


That One Fish in the Sea

by EvergreenEmerald



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Aquariums, Artist Reader, Cancer, Cosplay, Cutting, Depression, Echo flower nice cream, F/F, F/M, Family Member Death, Fish, Fluff, Gender-Neutral Frisk, I'm Bad At Titles, Implied/Referenced Suicide, M/M, No Smut, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, PTA Sans, Past Abuse, Post-Pacifist Route, Reader Is Not Frisk, Reader likes to swim, Reader uses sign, Reader-Insert, Sans Doesn't Remember Resets, Sans Has Night Terrors, Sign Language, Stars, but he does dream about them or he remembers but thinks they are dreams, chubby sans, friends make life better, reader is a performer kinda, reader is female, reader isn't good at talking, sans has Metathesiophobia, sans is a slob
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-14
Updated: 2016-12-25
Packaged: 2018-07-14 22:54:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 23,832
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7194203
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EvergreenEmerald/pseuds/EvergreenEmerald
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You giggle to yourself, remembering the little yellow dinosaur. She seems so much braver through text then in person. Well same can be said about you, you can only bring your voice up to a whisper when talking to others. You relax into your bed, content with how things have gone today for once in a long time."</p><p>You are starting a new life outside the city after your mother's recent death. You get a new job, bribed into helping a cosplay shop to get discounts on art supplies, and you meet  Alphys that you bond with over similarities that you have. Thanks to her and her girlfriend, you feel content. what more could you ask for, other than a lifetime supply of echo flower flavored nice cream?</p><p>(on hiatus... again, sorry. I have been writing fluff for so long constantly that I need a serious break from it. This fic is just waaaaaaay too fluffy for me right now.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. My New Start

**Author's Note:**

> i posted this first ch. such a long time ago, that i forgot what i was doing with the story. so i came up with an entire new plot. this is the same first ch. that i originally posted. I am finally going to continue this fic.
> 
> i hope you enjoy it and notice any errors let me know.

_-Ding ling-_  

The bell to the store rang above your head as you entered. You were shopping for special material for a new potential job at the aquarium. They were holding a contest for a new show idea to bring more people to the aquarium and you had the perfect idea, made all the plans and sketched it all out. Now the question is which material will be able to withstand continuous usage in salt water. You picked up samples of swimsuit material, rubbing the soft cloth between your thumb and forefinger _._ You wonder how it would look being stretched and folded at the same time, would it still look- Your thoughts were cut off by someone yelling in the front.

 

“What?! What the hell do you mean you’re not coming?” You peaked around the corner of shelves of painting supplies to see a woman standing at the cash register, yelling at someone on the phone. You noticed that she was dressed like Sailor Venus, which shouldn’t be too strange considering you are standing in the middle of a cosplay store.

 

“Today is the convention; we finally got a booth to showcase our store to our main market of customers, the sole purpose of this store, and you’re telling me that one of our makeup artists isn’t even coming because she doesn’t feel like working today?! How are we going to do the makeup portion if you aren’t there, that’s a big part of what we do here! Hey don’t you hang up-” She pulled the phone back, her golden hair swaying to the motion.

 

“Man…” She put the phone down and started pulling off her gloves. That’s when she noticed you for the first time and you ran back to the material isle again. You finally picked a thicke,r almost rubber like, spandex material for your project. This was only testing material for now, it doesn’t have to be pretty till the final presentation.  You were so lost in your thoughts that you didn’t even notice the smirking space warrior beside you.

 

“Wahhh?!” You screamed, stepping back, holding the roll of material close to you.

 

“Sorry didn’t mean to scare you; I couldn’t help but notice that you are looking at some pretty advanced material there.” She pointed to the cloth that you were hugging. “That means you are someone who knows what they are doing, plus I've seen you buy a lot of paint and other materials here before, are you cosplaying at the con today?”

 

You shook your head no to her. You tend to be a quiet person but when faced with people who are very upfront, you seem to lose your voice completely.

 

“So this is some sort of project you are doing?” You nodded. “Can you paint on other people or even do makeup?” Your eyes narrow; you see where she is going with this and there is no way you are going to a big crowded place filled with crazy anime obsessed people. You turn around in a huff to the cash register to buy your supplies. No way in hell will you be doing that, you are going back home for a quiet day of working.

 

She followed you and went behind the counter, scanning your very expensive material. The final price made you make a slight groan as you took out your wallet. “You know, employees get a discount, if you go to the con for us, you’ll be considered as an employee and the price for your material would be this.” She typed in a few keys and the price dropped significantly. Your eyes widened, as did her smile. She leaned against the counter. “So I’m Avery, I assume I am your new boss now, let’s find you something to wear.”

 

* * *

 

And that is how you ended up here, at the anime convention. You have been sitting with your legs crossed playing games on your phone. Avery had forced you into cosplaying as Celty Sturluson from Durarara!! You didn’t mind, the helmet hid your face and because the character doesn’t talk, nobody expects you to answer. Staying in character.  A few people asked to take a picture with you, which wasn’t a big deal. At least you get a discount for sitting here all day. You had taken out your sketch pad and started to aimlessly draw designs when you noticed that people around you had started to whisper. You looked up to see a shorter person cosplaying as some sort of yellow lizard-like scientist, looking through some sample pictures of advanced costumes that were made by the shop. Why would someone who made a costume that looked so real need-

 

Wait. The small lizard started to drink through a straw; you can see each swallow she took as she guzzled her soda. Not a costume. You finally realized that this was a monster and happy that you were wearing a helmet, or else everyone would see your mouth dropping wide open. No wonder all the other workers had backed away from her. Monsters had come to the surface a few months ago and had recently started to be allowed to explore human society. People were still very wary of them so they are kept in a temporary community on the base of Mount Ebott and letting a few out once in a while to get people more used to them before letting them live among humans. Even with all this prep work to make people used to them, many people are indifferent, but a few loud humans had no problem voicing their displeasure of their arrival. Some people are even protesting to not have them mingle with humans, they are starting to get riled up, and things are becoming intense, even though the monster ambassador is a human.

 

“Um…d-do you g-guys m-m-make costumes for Mew Mew Kissy Cutie?” She nervously asked, the scales on her face starting to blush. No one seemed to want to talk to her, so you got up from your chair and typed on your phone as you made your way to her.

 

[Sorry, these are all the pictures of costumes we sell regularly but you can make a special order for one.] You showed her your phone.

 

“Oh, um, w-well, it is an o-old anime, I guess. I j-just heard a-about this convention an-and came after an interview an-and I thought, maybe, it-it would b-be f-fun.”  She nervously fiddled with one of her claws as her face became redder with her rambling. Despite the fact that she is a lizard(dinosaur?) monster, she seems pretty adorable. You found yourself smiling under your helmet.

 

[What’s your name? We can sign you up for a custom order.]

 

“Oh, I’m uh, Alphys.” You hand her the store’s business card and a costume order sheet. “Oh, this, this is b-by the apar-apartment I was looking at. Th-thank you.”

 

“Tch, a monster is here too…” Some guys scoffed as they walked by. You looked at Alphys; she had lowered her head, concentrating on scraping under her claws.

 

“Th-that happens, hu-humans t-tend to be afraid of us and they d-don’t seem t-to want us around.” You started to type on your phone again.

 

[I am not afraid, but you should be. Humans can be violent towards things they don’t understand, so be careful and don’t go out alone.] You lift the helmet up enough to show her your smile.

 

Alphys looks up at you in awe. “Th-thank you, I-I’ll be fine, my girlfriend Undyne is a st-strong monster.” She beams an adorable smile at you that you can’t help but giggle. You and Alphys talk for a bit and exchange numbers. You waved goodbye to her as she waddled away, her tail swinging behind her.

 

You sat down back at your station, humming to yourself happily for the rest of day. Today was a good day, you got ringed into a job you didn’t want but you met your first monster, and she seemed really nice. Avery skipped over to you, her hands full of bags of souvenirs.

 

“Hey ___, so how was your first day? I heard you handled things pretty well.” You just nodded towards her. You hate to admit it but you kind of liked doing other people’s makeup and painting on something other than a flat surface. “So since one of our makeup artists quit today, would you like to make this temp job into a real thing? Part-time of course, since I assume you have something else going on.” She pulled up a chair next to you, took out a nice cream Popsicle from one of the bags and handed it to you.

 

“Maybe…” you whispered as you took off your helmet and started to eat the blue nice cream. It was delicious, its flavor indescribable.

 

Avery noticed you eating the nice cream more vigorously. “Good huh? Its echo-flower flavor, there was a nice cream stand outside, some skeleton was selling it and suggested this one. Monsters may have been locked away underground but their taste in food is totally above us.” You sucked on the stick to get every last drop of the wonderful flavor.

 

* * *

 

You get home later than you usually do. “I’m home…” you call out to an empty house. Kicking off your boots, you head directly upstairs. You live in a small community made up of apartments and townhouses; you have lived in this townhouse ever since your mom passed away a year ago but it still looked like you were just moving in. Your kitchen was covered in boxes full of kitchenware and old takeout boxes. You haven’t even taken off the plastic protective covers on your TV or couch in the living room, not like you were using it at all. You dropped off your supplies in the master bedroom that you'd converted into your workshop room. You were hoping to start the sewing today. You sighed as you placed the material out on the table. Hope seems to be the key word for your life right now.

 

A beep from your phone woke you from your dark thoughts. You smiled, seeing that it was from the new friend you made today. “I wanted a new life; I guess this is pretty new alright.” You laughed leaving the room and going into your bedroom across the hall.

 

 

Alphys =^-^= 10:32 P.M.

**Hello, I wanted to thank you for talking to me today~! I hope that we can become great friends… if you wanted to that is?**

You 10:34 P.M.

**It was nice meeting you 2, and yes, I would love to be your friend**

Alphys =^-^= 10:35 P.M.

**Oh good~! Maybe we can hang out when us monsters are allowed to live in human communities and I’ll show you Mew Mew Kissy Cutie =^-^=!!!**

You 10:36 P.M.

**Sounds fun seeya later :D**

You giggle to yourself, remembering the little yellow dinosaur. She seems so much braver through text than in person. Well same can be said about you, you can only bring your voice up to a whisper when talking to others. You relax into your bed, content with how things have gone today for the first time in a long time. Maybe you’ll start to unpack finally.

 

* * *

 

 

It has been two months now. You have perfected your project and grown your hair to your waist. You made everything and tested as many different combos of waterproof paint and makeup to make sure only the best was being used. You sat in the bathroom of the aquarium. Today was the day of your presentation; butterflies were swarming around in your stomach, threatening to spill out everywhere.

 

“You ready?” Avery came into the mirror with you. You'd had no choice but to tell Avery what you were doing and she'd loved it, and said that she would help you with anything you needed.

 

You sighed, adjusting the shell clips in your hair, and answered her in your whispered voice. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” You were happy to have her here. You can’t speak very loud, you can sign a little, but no one really understands it. Avery has the booming voice you wish you had and is speaking for you today. You drape the blanket over you for the reveal as she wheeled you out to the presentation room.

 

“Ah, hello, Ms. ___, I am the director of the aquarium. Your friend told us that you have a hard time speaking but said that as soon as we see what you did, words wouldn’t be needed. We are ready when you are.” You nod to them in hello and looked to Avery.

 

“Ready?” Avery asked as she clutched the blanket. You gave her a smile and she ripped the blanket away from you to reveal what you made. Everyone in the room gasped.

 

“Is that…?”

 

You sat up straighter for them to see more clearly. You moved your legs in the comfortable suit made to your exact measurements. You weren’t wearing a shirt but you were wearing a small fishing net that had some shells weaved into it like a scarf that covered your chest. When you turned to the side, people could see that you were not actually naked underneath the net. Where you would expect to see overly revealing skin, were silver green scales. They trailed from your breasts and blended down into your bare stomach. Lower, the scales returned and decorated a long elegant tail. You had placed every single scale into the tail by hand and made the fin that spread out at the end look as soft and delicate as a real fish’s tail would be, but actually it was strong and sturdy, capable of propelling you through water fast. You put every tiny detail into this, even small fins that matched your tail on your arms and to cover your ears as well that you can see when you lift up your hair. You even made yourself some gills. You flapped your tail around to show that you could move around in it no problem.

 

“Can you… do you plan to swim in that?” One of the judges asked.

 

You nodded, looking at Avery. “She has already tested it and made it with water durable material. Everything you see here she has been testing and perfecting for months. The tail and accessories will last for half of a years’ worth of swimming and the makeup and paint last up to fourteen hours in the water. She is even wearing contact lenses that make her eyes look like a fish’s and will help keep her eyes from getting over irritated in the salt water.” You widen your eyes for them to see them.

 

“So you want to put on a show featuring….”

 

“Yes, a show with a somewhat real mermaid.”


	2. Our First Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> it has been seven months after meeting Alphys and you are starting to feel like a normal person again.  
> you are meeting Alphys at an anime street fair but are running late. you struck gold on the way when you noticed a hot dog stand that said "Now Selling Nice Cream".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here is the new ch, months later.  
> i'll work on it more, i promise!
> 
> i hope you enjoy it and let me know if you notice any errors. :3

_“Mommy, look at all the pretty fishies!” You jumped towards the tank, pressing your face against the glass. Your mother chuckled behind you as she caught up with you. You pull away to look at the small fish glossary book the aquarium provides. You try your best to tell what each fish is but they swim so fast you can’t keep up. You give up and decide to just enjoy the fish swim around. “All these fishies are so pretty, I wish I could live with them.”_

_Your mom just laughs and picks you up so you can have a better view. “To do that you would have to become part fish!”_

_~_

_That is the memory you had as you were walking to the arts store for supplies. You pass the same aquarium that your mother took you to all those years ago. After that, you were obsessed. All you wanted to do was swim with the fish. As you became older, you started swimming competitively and were good at it. In high school you were on the varsity team, the butterfly stroke was your best stroke. You were even recruited to a college to swim for one of the best swim teams in the country… but life had other plans for you. Your dreams had to end the day your mother was diagnosed with terminal cancer. You sigh, missing your passed mother. You almost walk right past a sign advertising a competition that the aquarium was holding for a new attraction. Part fish huh? You came up with your idea and went to the library, checking out as many books as you could carry about fish and found out what kind of fish are shown at the aquarium. You sketch out your idea and started building, becoming a new frequenter at a cosplay shop._

 

* * *

 

 

You hear your phone beep and see that Alphys has updated something on the UnderNet.

 

 **ALPHYS** 12:21 PM

  * _Can’t wait for the Anime Fair today! Going with my waifu and getting to spend time with my bestie! (_ _ﾉ^_ _ヮ^)_ _ﾉ*:_ _・ﾟ_ _✧ Dressed up as the protagonist from Mew Mew Kissy Cutie! So kawaii I could die! ٩(_ _♡ε_ _♡ )۶_
    * CoolSkeleton95, StrongFish91, and Frisk_E_Human liked this.



 

You chuckle at Alphys’ silliness and quickly like it with a response.

 

 **That0neF1sh** 12:23 PM

  * _I can’t wait to see you either! It has been such a long time since we got to see each other! But sadly, I have a job to do and will be a little late, I’ll leave as soon as I can! <3_



**ALPHYS** 12:24 PM

  * _Don’t worry! I’ll wait for you at the store’s booth!_ _o(_ _≧∇≦o)_



****

You smile at your phone even more. Alphys has become the close friend that you have wished you had growing up. You two have bonded over the last six months since both of you have nervous tendencies towards people and both have struggled with demons that you don’t want to go into right now. This isn’t a therapy session with your doctor. When monsters were allowed to freely roam into the human population, you and Al were glued to the hip. Undyne, Al’s tough and very protective fishy girlfriend was not happy about that at first, but you soon grew on her and all three of you would hang out when you had time. Your idea at the aquarium was a huge success. Kids all wanted to come see the mermaid that lived in the aquarium. Field trips and birthday parties were now constantly held here. You soon had to train some of the people who clean the tanks to be mer-people. There are now four other mermaids and two mermen; you were now the Queen of the mer-people since you were the first one.

 

“You’re up ___.” One of your co-workers, another mermaid, called for you. There was a birthday party today, and they'd requested to meet the queen, despite that this was your day-off. You give the woman a small nod. You are putting away your items into your locker and putting your shell crown on your head, when you hear your co-workers whisper to each other. “Does she ever talk? Or is she too high up on her throne to talk to us?” This isn’t uncommon of your co-workers. They all gossip behind your back, but none have ever asked. You sigh as you close your locker and head out to the party tank room.

 

You are now in your ‘land fish’ outfit. Your scaly chest was covered by your signature fishnet shawl and you wore a skirt that went to your mid-thigh made out of more fishnets, seashells and starfish were embedded throughout it. You placed extra scales on your hips just above the skirt and the entire backs of your calves were covered in scales. You wore some clunky boots that made you walk funny, adding to the illusion that you were a fish out of water having a hard time walking on land. You are about to enter the room to the party when your boss stops you. “___, hi, I just want to thank you for coming in today. You see, this party is a special case.” He smiled at you as he grabbed the door handle for you. Special? “You see, the birthday girl is actually deaf and only communicates through sign. I thought you would be more suited to fullfil this little girl’s dream than the others, since they can’t sign.” Oh, you see, now you aren’t that mad anymore about coming in. Your boss just wanted to accommodate to the child’s needs, how sweet. You give him a big smile, understanding his intentions. “Thanks for understanding.” He opens the door for you and you enter to gasps.

 

The birthday girl was hopping up and down in her seat, holding a Finding Dory plush doll to her chest and seashells clipped in her hair. **“The mermaid queen, look Mom, it’s the mermaid queen at my party!”** She signed rapidly.

 

You begin to sign to her. **“Hello, I am the queen of the mer-people and I have come here to wish you the best birthday.”**

The mother’s eyes went wide, she must have not known beforehand. The little girl jumped out of her seat and ran to you. **“You can sign?”**

 

 **“Yes, that is my only way of speaking.”** You sign back.

 

 **“Can you not hear like me?”** You shake your head.

 

 **“No, I can’t speak.”** You tap your throat and shrug.

 

She ponders for a moment. **“Why? Were you born like that like me?”**

 

 **“My voice was taken from me after I decided to stay here.”** Not entirely a lie. Your voice was taken away after your vocal cords were destroyed.

 

 **“Like the Little Mermaid when she wanted legs?"** You nod to her, as that was the best way you could possibly describe what happened to you to a little girl who looked up to you.

 

* * *

 

You are running down the street, trying to get to the anime walking fair. You are slightly wet because the birthday girl asked if she could see you swim before they left. You couldn’t say no and ended up in the water. Now you are way later than planned and just know that Undyne may kill you for making Al wait. Suddenly you stop, noticing a hot dog stand with a sign that says ‘Now selling nice cream’. Now you are sprinting over to the hot dog stand. Nice cream has become your favorite treat and you are addicted to them, especially the echo flower flavor! You notice that there is a skeletal monster sleeping behind the cart, so you knock on the counter loudly as you lean forward. He wakes up, startled. His chair was leaning back and he was perfectly balanced asleep, but now his arms flail in the air as he started to fall back. You quickly reach out and grab his hand, steadying him. “W-whoa, thanks kid…” He wipes away some sweat, but you are no longer paying attention to him. You are staring down at the menu where it says echo flower, your mouth starting to fill with saliva.

 

A hand snaps in front of your face, startling you. “Hey kiddo, I said is there something I can get you?” The skeleton looks at you, amused.

 

Oh, right, you have to order. You start signing to him without thinking, and fast. **“I want three, wait no, four… no, five. I want five echo flower nice creams.”** You stomach gurgles at the smell of hot dogs. **“And a hot dog… actually make that two!”** You have the habit of not eating breakfast and are usually starving by lunch time.

 

The skeleton is staring at you with wide eye-sockets. “Sorry, I don’t understand what you are saying.” Oh, right… not everyone knows sign… You reach into your bag and pull out a pen and paper, but skeletal hand stops you. “No, I understand sign, just not when it is going a million miles a minute.” He’s chuckling at you now as your face starts to burn.

 

 **“Oh, I’m sorry. I would like two hot dogs and five echo flower nice creams.”** He doesn’t even question your eating habits as you give your order. You automatically start putting mayo on your hot dogs.

 

“That’s new. Why mayo and not ketchup?” You look over to see the skeleton squirt a ketchup packet into his mouth.

 

You cringe and put the food down to sign. **“I hate ketchup.”**

 

“What? That’s it, we can’t be friends anymore until you _relish_ in the fact that ketchup is the best.” He clutched his shirt like he was in pain and turned his head away from you.

 

You giggle at his joke and dramatic act. He turns back with a huge smile on his face; he must be very proud of that pun. You hold up the first hot dog to your mouth, debating whether or not to take out the fake fang teeth you had, an idea you got when you first saw Undyne. It should be fine, you open your mouth and take a big bite. You notice him watching you and you give him a big smile after swallowing, showing off your fangs. He nods in approval and leans back as you scarf down the food fast. You sign to him again. **“That was good, now nice cream!”** You start opening the first nice cream.

 

“Man, you really _krilled_ those hot dogs.” He throws you another pun, making you laugh more. You place the nice cream in your mouth and begin to sign when he interrupts you. “Didn’t anyone tell you not to talk with your mouth full?” His grin widened at you as you rolled your eyes.

 

 **“There isn’t anything this good to eat in the ocean, and you only tell that to people who can talk.”** You go back to eating and you can’t help but moan as you eat it. You will never get sick of nice cream, if you could, you would eat it every day! You finish the first nice cream within minutes and move on to the next one.

 

“You really like those things huh?” You look over to the skeleton and nod. He had put his hood up and was tugging it over his blueish face. You tilt your head, wondering what was wrong with him till you saw his watch. You pull out your phone to see that it is twenty minutes past the time you said you would be at the booth.

 

You finish off the second nice cream and put the others in your bag, hoping that they don’t melt too much before you get there. **“I’m so late. Sorry, I promised to meet some friends of mine. Thanks for the food.”** You wave to him as you run away to go find Alphys and her probably pissed off girlfriend. You don’t notice the skeleton kept his eyes on you till you completely disappeared from his sight.

 

* * *

 

 

“____, where have you been? Hey… I thought you were going to come as Stevonnie? Wait… did they make you come to work?!” Avery stood up as you came over… well tried to stand up. She is currently six months pregnant and is huge. You pat her on the shoulder and reach into your bag and hand her a nice cream. She gasps and rips the package open. “Ooooh, all is forgiven, but did they really call you in on your day off?”

 

You lean down and whisper in her ear, she can’t read sign yet, but she is trying. “There was a girl that couldn’t hear… I’m the only one who signs…”

 

“Ah, I got it.” She nods and rubs her belly over her yellow overall dress. She is currently cosplaying as a pregnant Nagisa from Clannad After Story. You pull out the other two nice creams and sit down next to her. You start eating when you notice that your little yellow lizard friend isn’t here. You jump up and start tapping on the arm of Avery’s chair. She looks at you, shocked by your sudden movement. You mimic the nervous gestures that Alphys does with her hands. “Ah, her and Undyne had went to a photo booth real quick to have their photos done together, since they are dressed as her OTP couple.” Avery rolls her eyes. Avery and Alphys are in the middle of a heavy debate on who the main protagonist of Mew Mew Kissy Cutie should be with. If Avery wasn’t pregnant, you are sure that she would have dressed as the protagonist and made her husband dress as the partner that she thinks should be with them. You look behind you to see her husband David dressed like Tomoya; he even had a wig that looked like his hair and everything. He is really dedicated to Avery, willing to dress up for her and come to events like these to paint fake tattoos on people. He is a professional tattoo artist by trade and if he wasn’t wearing that green sweater, you would be able to see both his arms covered in tattoos. You finish both the nice creams, instantly feeling sad that there was no more. Avery chuckles at you as you pout.

 

 

“_-___! You’re h-here!” Alphys comes running towards you; she looks absolutely adorable in her costume. She is wearing a fluffy pink dress and cat ears on her head. You smile at her, a real smile that you have reserved for people that you keep close to your heart. You get up and instantly hug her. Her warm scales were very comforting as you laid your head on top of hers.

 

“Hey punk! Stop trying to steal my girl.” You lift your head to see Undyne in a long formal blue coat and a blonde wig on. She is staring daggers at you right now. You smirk at her and grab her arm, pulling her into a group hug. “O-okay punk, enough, I get it….” Undyne is blushing now. What a marshmallow.

 

You smile as you hug them. “I missed you guys…” You whispered to them. They may be allowed out to the human public, but they still live on the mountain and that’s far from you.

 

Alphys and Undyne look at each other and smile. “We-we got a-a sur-surprise for yo-you…”

 

“We, and a lot of our buddies, are moving to the city. We are going to live only a few minutes away, starting next week.” Undyne gave you a wide, toothy smile.

 

You were lost for words. All you could do was a small squeal as you hug them tighter. Life truly is getting better, just like your mother had told you it would. “L-lets take a pic-picture.” Alphys held up a camera and you and Undyne pressed your heads closer to Alphys with her in the middle. You held up a peace sign and smiled just as big as Undyne. “S-so po-posting th-this.” You nodded in agreement and hopped over to Avery to tell her the good news.

 

Avery held up a hand. “I heard and I think it’s great. Means I have more time to teach Alphys why my OTP is the true pairing.” Shots fired.

 

You and Undyne back up slowly as Alphys gasped. “N-now you listen here Avery…” Alphys and Avery are now having a small shouting match about their OTPs. You and Undyne both roll your eyes at the same time and then burst into laughter. You felt so happy with your life right now, you don’t know you could possibly get any happier.

 

* * *

 

Sans’ phone dings, letting him know that someone has updated on the UnderNet. He pulls out his phone to see that it was Alphys who posted a status update with a picture. He reads the status and then his eye –sockets go wide as he sees a picture of you with the monster couple. He decides it would be fun to leave a comment.

 

 **ALPHYS** 4:03 PM

 

  * _Finally all together again, looking awesome, and soon we’ll all live near together!_ _ヽ_ _(=^_ _･_ _ω_ _･^=)_ _丿 Here is a picture of all us after we told ___ that we were going to be living in the same area as her!_ _｡ﾟ_ _✶_ _ฺ._ _ヽ(*´_ _∀`*)_ _ﾉ._ _✶_ _ฺ_ _ﾟ｡_
    * CoolSkeleton95, legendaryfartmaster2 and Frisk_E_Human liked this.



 

  * Comments: 
    * **legendaryfartmaster2** : Something looks fishy in this pic
    * **CoolSkeleton95** : STOP IT NOW! DISABLE HIS COMMENTING CAPABILITIES!
    * **Frisk_E_Human** : rofl
    * **legendaryfartmaster2** : Im sorry, it looks two fishy.
    * **CoolSkeleton95** : STOP YOU VILE PUN FEIND!!!!!!!!!




	3. Our Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> making more friends and a small surprise at the end of your therapy session

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoy it and if you notice any errors let me and i'll fix them :D

“Sans, could I ask you to help me with something?” Toriel was looking at multiple business cards on her kitchen table. Sans had just stepped into the kitchen after tucking Frisk into bed.

 

Sans sat down with his hands in his pockets. “Sure, what’s up Tori?”

 

Toriel sighed as she pushed the cards towards Sans. “My child has finally agreed to go to counseling… with a condition attached to it, but I can’t seem to make a decision on which therapist would be more open minded about our…living situation. I have appointments to go to all these offices tomorrow, but Asgore… has diplomatic responsibilities and is going to those instead.” Toriel spoke bitterly. Frisk has taken upon themselves to repair Toriel and Asgore’s relationship, Asgore is very open to the idea… Toriel is still resistant and "in denial" as Frisk would say. “Do you think you could come with me? You are a better judge of character than I am.”

 

“Sure thing-… wait, tomorrow?” Tomorrow is the day Undyne and Alphys are moving. Sans and Papyrus had been asked if they could help… Sans shrugged; he is sure between Undyne and Paps, they can handle it without him… who’s he kidding? He would be taking a nap while they did everything…also Al would try to convince him to get his degree approved and work with her…. again.

 

Sans was deep in thought, his eyes black. “Is something wrong Sans?” Toriel looked at him, full of worry.

 

“No, it’s fine. I’ll go with you. You _goat_ nothing to worry about…except, for the kid’s condition. What did they ask for?” Toriel stiffened, letting out a big sigh of frustration as she groaned at the mention of it.

 

“They said if they have to go to therapy, then Asgore and I have to go to marriage counseling.” Sans scoffed at this. Way to go kid.

 

* * *

 

You rush to grab all your things from your locker and run out the door, heading for the exit. “Uh, bye ___...” One of your co-workers shouts. The others stay silent, ignoring you. You don’t mind today, you have other things happening in your life right now.

 

You feel like you are running too often lately… maybe you should get a car… but then you have to think of traffic and finding a place to park. Bleh. There was a last minute cancellation at the aquarium and you are now running to Alphys and Undyne’s new place. They live in a small two bedroom apartment that was a walkable distance from the research facility that Alphys now works at. Undyne is still deciding what she wants to do; for now she is a security guard at a private company. It is a fifteen minute walk from home, but you weren’t going to miss out on them moving in to go home and change. They are used to you in your mermaid outfit anyways. Undyne made the joke that you should just have the scales and fins permanently attached since you wear them all the time. You see the small apartment building; a moving van sat outside the front. They were hosting a small gathering with friends and you were hoping to not miss anything fun…or revealing to tease Undyne and Alphys with later. You walk up to the van and peek in the back, just in time to see Undyne and…a skeleton… lifting large furniture on their own. How does a skeleton with no muscles lift a couch above his head?! Undyne turns around with a large table resting on her shoulders to see you. “Hey punk! Thought you couldn’t make it till later?”

 

 **“There was a cancellation. Case of really bad lice outbreak at the school, they thought it would be best to put off the field trip till it’s all taken care of.”** Undyne nodded as you signed to her.

 

She walked out of the van and turned around, pointing to the skeleton in the van. “That’s my pal Papyrus, by the way. He and Frisk are here to help; sadly everyone else had other things to do. Though, Sans didn’t sound too sad for not being able to help, lazy ass.”

 

The skeleton Papyrus walked out of the van and looked displeased. “UNDYNE, I KNOW MY BROTHER TENDS TO BE LAZY AND WILL NOT STOP HIS CONSTANT TORTUROUS PUNS, AND I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT HE WOULD HAVE JUST LAZIED AROUND WHILE WE DID ALL THE WORK, EITHER SLEEPING OR MAKING PUNS EVERY TIME WE CAME IN…” Papyrus looked like was getting mad just thinking about what his brother’s antics; it was pretty amusing. He shook his head and continued on his rant. “BUT THERE IS NO NEED TO USE SUCH LANGUAGE. BESIDES, ASGORE’S CLONE NEEDED HIS HELP SPECIFICALLY; IT WAS AT LEAST A GOOD REASON TO AVOID HAVING TO DO ANY HEAVY LIFTING… ANYWAYS, HELLO! I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS, FORMER ROYAL GUARDSMEN IN TRAINING, MASTER CHEF, AND NOW A MASTER PUZZLE MAKER. WHO ARE YOU, NEW FRIEND? AND IF YOU DON’T MIND ME ASKING, ARE YOU HUMAN OR MONSTER, I CANNOT SEEM TO TELL.”

 

Undyne bursted out laughing at Papyrus as he eyed(?) your scales and fins. Oh right, you were still in costume. **“My name is ___, it is very nice to meet you, also I’m a mermaid, which is a magical creature that is half human and half fish.”** Undyne is laughing even more as she started walking into the apartment. You and Papyrus follow her.

 

“DOES THAT MEAN YOUR PARENTS WERE A MAGICAL FISH AND A HUMAN? HOW DOES THAT WORK, FISHY-HUMAN?” You start silently laughing; Undyne seemed to be dying in front of you two.

 

 **“Oh no Papyrus, I’m sorry I was only kidding, you see, this is actually…”** You explain to him what your job is and how you are wearing a costume that is made to look realistic to keep up with the illusion for the kids. Papyrus seems to really enjoy your story; his smile widened as you told him stories of children you have interacted with all the way to Undyne and Alphys’ apartment.

 

“Hey babe, guess what I found outside?!” Undyne shouted as she opened the door. You come skipping in to see Alphys and a human child sitting on the floor, watching anime.

 

“_-__! You ca-came early!” Alphys comes waddling over to you and you exchange hugs.

 

 **“Yeah, I couldn’t miss my bestie’s housewarming party could I?”** You give Alphys a big grin and sign to her in a way that only she can see. **“I also got you and Undyne a gift, something from a scene in Mew Mew Kissy Cutie that you reeeaaally liked, but it’s for a different type of cosplaying that you shouldn’t wear outside.”** You snicker at her as she slowly turns red.

 

“_-__! I sh-should ha-have nev-er h-had told y-you that!” Alphys covered her red face and shook her head. You smile at her and pat her head. “Th-thank you ___.”

 

You nod at her, knowing that there was more to that than thank you; she was thanking you for accepting a part of her that she felt shame for. You and Alphys have a special bond. Both of you have never thought of yourselves too highly and were always afraid that people won’t approve of who you are on the inside. There were nights where you and Alphys would stay up all night, talking about everything that makes you insecure, fears that you have had, and the dark thoughts that have constantly come back to haunt you. You have both helped each other become better, you reminded her to not to apologize for things that really aren’t her fault and she reminded you to eat on a daily basis. You notice that the child had made their way over to you and Alphys. **“Hello.”** You waved to them; they looked shocked at you as you signed to Alphys. **“Who is that?”** You point to the child who snapped out of their daze.

 

They raise their hands and began to sign. **“I’m Frisk… you’re the mermaid queen from the aquarium right?”** You smile at them. So many kids signing lately; this really makes life easier.

 

**“Yes, I’m ___, it is very nice to meet you Frisk.”**

 

* * *

 

“Thank you so much doctor, you have been so helpful.” Toriel is smiling as she shakes the doctor’s hand.

 

He shrugs, waving off her compliment. “It’s no problem, I’m sure Frisk and I will get along, and don’t worry about your family’s situation. I have heard and dealt with way worse. You seem like a very capable woman to raise Frisk. If they don’t like me, I have a list of colleagues with similar backgrounds that I know would be fine with monsters.” He stands up to shake Toriel and Sans’ hands.

 

Toriel steps out of the room first. “If there is any emergency with Frisk, just call me. I’ll be here in a flash.” Sans hands the doctor a paper with his number on it.

 

“Will do.” He nods at Sans. Sans can see that he is a good man and he truly does want to help Frisk.

 

Sans and Toriel leave the office and stand outside. “I really liked that doctor. And that he is so willing to see Frisk so soon is wonderful. You are sure that you don’t mind taking Frisk for me to their appointments?”

 

Sans gives her a nod. With all the gold he had from the underground being worth quite a bit on the surface, he really didn’t need to work but he still ran his hot dog stand. It was something that was familiar to him and something that won’t change, even if a reset happens again. “Don’t worry about it Tori. I’ll take care of your _kid_.” Sans winked at her as she giggled.

 

“You _goat_ me there. Thank you Sans.”

 

* * *

 

 

 **“Thank you for the ride.”** You step out of Papyrus’ red convertible. You went to say goodbye to your mini fan in the back seat, but Frisk had completely passed out. You smile at them and turn back to Papyrus.

 

“It was no problem human, it was the least I, the great Papyrus, could do for you. I was not going to let you walk home in the dark; friends should not let their friends do something so dangerous.” Papyrus had lowered his voice to not disturb Frisk.

 

 **“Well, thank you again. I’ll see you next week for our beach trip?”** Undyne thought it would be fun to go to the beach, now that they have more freedom to roam the surface. You haven’t been to the ocean in such a long time, you agreed right away.

 

Papyrus nodded enthusiastically. “Yes, I will take that as an opportunity to show off my cool biceps, though I should get them new sun glasses… And I’ll be sure to make a large batch of my famous spaghetti for lunch. Now I shall take Frisk home, see you later human!” Papyrus drove away as you stood in front of your house, waving. You were quick to learn not to question what Papyrus said too much. You turn to enter your home. Thanks to Alphys’ help, you had finally finished unpacking everything inside. You go to your freezer and pull out a nice cream that you have been saving. Can you get addicted to monster desserts? You might be a nice cream addict. Unwrapping your frozen treat, you head upstairs to take off your scales and fins for the night. You stop in front of a picture of your mother and you when you were maybe two or three. She looks so happy and full of life as she looked at whoever was taking the picture. You touch the picture as you walk by and whisper. “I’m home… mom…. I miss you…”

 

After you took your shower and hop into bed, that night you dreamed of your mother, the day she left you alone, and the dark days that followed.

 

* * *

 

_“There was too much pressure on your vocal cords causing some severe trauma, we can do a few procedures, they’ll be costly, but the likelihood of it being repaired completely is… slim. You probably won’t get past a whisper.”_

_You are sitting in your bed, looking out the window, scratching at your neck brace. You hated this thing. You hated the hospital. You hated your father for not showing up. You hated your mother for not being here with you. And you hate yourself for not being able to go to your mother’s funeral… The sun was out, shining brightly. Birds are flying past your window, singing sweet songs to each other. And you are stuck here with people constantly watching you, afraid of what you might do alone. You were no longer afraid, that would mean that you actually felt something inside. You’re numb, dull to the world, and have forgotten how to smile, to be happy. You hear a knock at your door. “Ms. ___? Hello, I am your mother’s lawyer.” You turn your body towards him, looking at him with glazed over eyes. He clears his throat. “The doctors have told me about your… incident… and I am aware that you can’t speak. I have your mother’s last will and testament. There is a letter that she wrote addressed to you.” He hands you an envelope, but you let it drop to your lap. What does she have to say? She was silent all your life and now she seems to be more verbal dead. “Um… I suggest you read it.” You glare at the lawyer as you roughly open the letter._

My dear ___,

 

I am sorry that I wasn’t the mother you needed. I never was. I was afraid and pathetic all my life. But I was not deaf or blind, I could see what was happening, it was happening to me too. I did nothing to stop it or help you when a mother should protect their child from anything or anyone that may harm them, even if that person is the father of your child. For years I had planned to leave your father, to take you with me somewhere else, for you to grow up and be happy. But I couldn’t. I had no experience nor had I the courage. I never worked a day in my life; I married your father directly after high school and became the housewife he wanted. So every time I went grocery shopping or babysat for someone or found random change, I put it into a savings account. I finally had enough to live on my own, but you were already old enough to move out and then I became sick. I thought your father would leave me, but instead, he forced you to give up a bright future to take care of me. You couldn’t say no, not to him, and I understand why. I know, I did, but I didn’t know what to do till I was told I only had three months left. If you are reading this, then I’m dead and in the ground. I know your father is going to try and pull something, so I made you my only benefactor. My life insurance will give you $50,000, that’ll cover moving and possibly a few months of rent or down payment on a house. I still have that bank account; your father never knew about it, so he could never waste it like he did with what little money we had. There is over $100,000 in it. Use it to get away from your father, do something with your life, live! Start swimming again, go and achieve your dreams! For yourself, not for me, my dream now is for you to follow me to heaven eighty years later and tell me all about the amazing life you have lived. Smile because you are the most beautiful when you do. I love you, I love you so much and I will regret not showing you how much I really loved you till the end of time and beyond. Make a better life for yourself and never look back.

 

                                    Love, your mother      

 

_You held the letter close to your chest, tears overflowing. She gave you a way out, a way to freedom. You turn to the lawyer, sobbing, and then back at the letter. You look out the window; you can feel your mother closer to you than she has ever been, despite her not being physically here. She saw it all, and knew you needed help and she gave it to you. You speak the first words you have spoken since they found you in your room. “Thank you, Mom…”_

* * *

 

 

“You seem to be doing progressively well over the last two years.” Your therapist nodded at you as you finished telling the story of the day you forgave your mother. “Not once since you have been here have you spoken of your mother that much and in so much detail.”

 

 **“Well, I find myself smiling more, just like she asked me to. I painted a few of her words on my walls.”** You signed. **“I feel like I understand her more now.”**

 

“Good… okay, I was able to do it during your talk about your mother, but I can’t take it anymore. Why are you dressed like that?” Your therapist chuckled at your outfit. You had pasted on all your scales and fins to your arms, head, and chest. You even had the contacts and teeth in already. You were wearing a loose tank top that allowed people to see your scales, skinny jeans, and boots.

 

You chuckle. **“I’m going to the beach with some friends tomorrow, so I switched shifts with a coworker for today so I can go with them, I start an hour after this.”**

 

“Oh, yay, that is something I love to hear more about, you are going to have to tell me about it next time.” He looks at his watch. “I actually have a new patient that starts today, right after you.” He stands up and leads you to the door. “I really am proud of you ___. I almost want to cry, I think some tears did fall when you told me you were eating more.”

 

You silently chuckle at the silly doctor. **“Well thank you.”** He opened the door for you and grabbed some papers from his secretary for you to sign.

 

“And you picked up sign language so fast. I’m slightly excited and dreading the day when you stop needing me. But till then, I’ll see you next week; have a nice day at work ___. And Annie, when the next patient comes let them into my office, please. I’ll be setting a few things up in my office for the child.” He nods at you and his secretary before disappearing into his office.

 

“Alright, everything is set; you are free to go Ms. ___.” You nod to the secretary and turn around to leave, but you are soon tackled by a small child, burying their face into your stomach.

 

“Whoa there kiddo, where’s the fire?” You hear someone talking but you kept your eyes on the child. They looked up at you with a big smile.

 

 **“Frisk? Well hello there, what are you doing here?”** You pat them on the head.

 

They step away from you to sign. **“I have to go to therapy… Mom is making me go. But my uncle Sans brought me today.”** They point behind them and you slowly look up. You see pink slippers on skeletal legs, basketball shorts and then a familiar blue hoodie.

 

“Heh, it’s that one fish who ate five nice creams.” You feel your face burn as the skeleton named Sans grinned at you. He steps closer to you and holds out his hand. “The kid and my bro told me about you; sorry I wasn’t there to help the Alphyne couple move in. I had some stuff to take care of. The name is Sans, Sans the skeleton.”


	4. How We Began

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You invite Frisk to see a show at the aquarium

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope u like it  
> and if u notice any errors let me know :D!

“Heh, it’s that one fish who ate five nice creams.” Sans’ smile widens as he sees your face become red. He steps closer to you and holds out his hand. “The kid and my bro told me about you; sorry I wasn’t there to help the Alphyne couple move in. I had some stuff to take care of. The name is Sans, Sans the skeleton.” You hesitantly look at his hand.

 

 **“It’s nice to formally meet you, but I’m not shaking your hand. Frisk and Papyrus warned me about you, legendary fart master.”** You reach out and poke at the whoopee cushion in his hand, an eyebrow raised.

 

Sans looked at Frisk. “Why do you keep telling people kid? You’re killing my jokes. I should call you silent but deadly.” Frisk shrugged, covering their mouth as they giggled. You grin at Frisk and pat them on the head.

 

You seemed to have remembered something and started digging inside your purse. You pull out an envelope and hand it to Frisk. **“I was going to give this to you tomorrow after the beach, but now should be okay. Those are two tickets to come to the aquarium and see one of my shows. You should come by sometime.”**

 

Frisk gasped as they looked at the tickets. They hand them over to Sans and start to sign. **“Really? Thank you! Are you having a show today, can we go today Uncle Sans? Can we? Can we? Please!”**

**“I am having a show today, it’s in an hour and a half, but you don’t have to come today. I’ll have more.”** You sign to them and they turn their attention to Sans.

 

Frisk is looking at him, eyes big and watery, begging. Sans rolled his eyes; it’s the fair all over again. “No can do kid, you have homework I know your mom wants you to do…” Frisk’s eyes are starting to water. “Ah, no kid, no waterworks… please… it isn’t going to work this time…” Frisk started to sniffle and Sans stiffened, they wouldn’t… “Please, no… no…” They would. Their face was turning red as they built themselves up to cry. Sans sighed. “Ugh… fine, you win… but you are doing your homework afterwards, no arguing.” Frisk’s face was instantly all smiles and they hugged Sans, like they didn’t just threaten to have a tantrum… again. “You really know how to manipulate people to get what you want…” Sans rubbed his face as he pat Frisk on the back. “Go already.” Sans pushed Frisk forward towards the secretary, who greeted Frisk and lead them into the therapist’s office.

 

Sans looked over to you, you were covering your mouth and your shoulders were shaking, indicating that you were laughing. You tried to sign, but you were struggling. Sans narrowed his eyes at you. “What? They were about to cry, I can’t deal with a crying kid.”

 

 **“More like you are a pushover. Frisk knows how to play you like an instrument.”** You are laughing more freely, soft little giggles escaping.

 

“Well, I guess then I’m a trom _bone._ ” He held up a skeletal hand to you. You roll your eyes at him, but you were still smiling. At least you weren’t against puns

 

You look at your phone. **“I have to go if I want to make it to work on time. I guess I’ll be seeing you two later.”**

 

“Uh, yeah, if you want I can give you my number… so we could let you know when we are on our way?” Sans rubbed his skull, mentally slapping himself. Did that come out as awkward as it sounded to him? Sans was second guessing himself when you handed him your phone.

 

* * *

 

You are smiling to yourself. For the first time you had people you knew coming to visit you to see your show. Alphys never had time to come before. You were practically skipping as you made your way over to the aquarium. You didn’t care that people were staring at you. You felt so great and hoped that Frisk and Sans enjoyed themselves. None of your coworkers said hello to you as you entered the locker room. That didn’t bug you, till someone bumped into you hard.

 

You almost fell into your locker and you looked up to see two of the mermaid women, Mika and Ronny, leaving the room. “Oh, I’m sorry, your highness~.” They said sarcastically and left the locker room. You look to see if anyone else saw that, but one woman, Callie, wouldn’t look at you as she was placing on her fins, guilt on her face, and the other one, Joyce, seemed to not care as she pulled her costume out of their locker. You bite your lip; you are not sure how to communicate with them. Avery talked to them on how to apply everything during their training and they were already skilled swimmers so they only needed a little practice with the tail for a week. You never really spoke to them. Well you tried but they couldn’t hear you and never notice you.  No one really tried to talk to you and you didn’t try either…maybe they are mad at you for something and you don’t know it?

 

You walk over to the other women nervously; you are doing the same nervous hand gestures as Alphys. “Um… did I upset you guys? I’m sorry for whatever I did…” Oh no, you are so nervous that your voice came out even quieter than it usually is.

 

“Huh? What? You have something to say now?” Joyce spoke up in a loud annoyed tone, causing you to flinch back. She didn’t even turn around to look at you. Callie gave you a look of confusion and then turned away from you.

 

You lower you head, ashamed. Without thinking, you signed as you spoke. “I’m sorry I haven’t talked to you guys, I can’t speak very well.”

 

Joyce slammed her locker to look at you finally. “Still not talking to us? At least have the decency to say hello to us, though we wouldn’t want to disturb you from your throne. Come on Callie, we have to clean the tanks now.” Joyce grabbed Callie’s arm and their tails, storming out of the room. You were left alone, unsure what to do.

 

“Hey ___, you ready? You are swimming in the dome room today. I’m sure Destiny is going to love having you join her.” Your boss calls from outside. You clap once, letting him know that you were on your way. One clap for, yes two for no is what you set up with him. “Okay, I’ll be waiting for you above the tank.” You hear your phone go off, Sans has texted you. You send a quick reply and then carry your new tail that you just made, this time it was purple and silver. That is something you and your mother shared in common; both of you loved purple.

 

* * *

 

 **“Look, there are fish everywhere!”** Frisk signed happily to Sans. You told him that you would be in the dome room in your text, but didn’t say anything else. Frisk was pressing their face up against the glass, smiling from ear to ear, as they watched schools of fish swim by.

 

Someone started speaking over the intercom. _“Hello, and welcome to our Bubble Room, we call it that because it is like you are standing inside a bubble under the ocean! We also call it our Dome Room. This room allows you to see what it is like to live under the sea! You have 360 degree view of all our aquatic life while in the safety of our man made bubble. This is a miniature sample of the ecosystem that you would observe in the ocean. We maintain everything inside the tank to keep all our aquatic life happy and healthy. One of our largest residents is our whale shark, named Destiny. Her species can grow up to 40 feet and weigh up to 66,000 lbs.!”_

 

As the announcer spoke, Destiny swam from above the dome, blocking out the sun for a brief moment. Both Sans and Frisk stared up at the large fish in amazement, tuning out the announcer’s voice. “Wow…” Sans whispered, never seeing a living creature larger than Asgore himself. Destiny swam by, opening her mouth to let water in, filtering for food. Sans’ eye sockets narrowed as he noticed something purple shine behind the fish’s fin.

 

Frisk turned back to Sans and noticed it too and pointed towards the fish. _“We also have another special resident, you may have seen already seen that there are special care takers in our other larger tanks just like her. She is the first to come here and has been crowned as the queen of the aquarium!”_ The purple blur left the whale shark and came swimming over, revealing it to be you. You swam close to the tank, occasionally twirling around. Kids were cheering everywhere. You would stop and wave to them, smiling. Frisk wanted to go say hello, but they chose the wrong spot to be and ended up being in the back.

 

Sans pat Frisk on the head as they pouted. “Don’t worry kid; I’m sure you’ll get a chance to say hi to her. Let’s look at Destiny and the other fish while we wait, okay?” Frisk nodded as they went to sit by the glass, watching fish go by.

 

* * *

 

You are saying hello to the children on the other side of the glass. You pull up a conch shell that you wear like an over-the-shoulder handbag. Alphys had made a device that filters oxygen from the water like gills do and made it look like a conch shell. Now instead of having this long tube in the water providing you air, you use this conch, helping the illusion that you are a mermaid. You breathe through the tip of the conch; bubbles come out of the opening, like you are blowing through it. The kids love it. You look through the crowd, trying to find your special little guest. You frown when you don’t see Frisk; you look around the room and spot the back of a skull. Sans was standing in the back, watching over Frisk who seemed not to happy as they watched the fish. They must have not been able to get to the front fast enough… you get an idea and start to swim up and over the top of the dome.

 

* * *

 

Frisk is still pouting slightly as they sat in front of the glass. Sans sighed. “Come on kid, I’m _shore_ you’ll get a chance.” Sans noticed a shadow go by, looked up and smiled. “Your _tide_ will come.” Sans watched as the kid gave him a meek smile and looked back at the fish, only to jump backwards. There you were, laying across the glass upside down, smiling at Frisk. Sans chuckled as Frisk looked back at Sans, excitedly, pointing at you.

 

 **“Hi Frisk, glad you could make. Do you like the aquarium so far?”** You signed to them.

 

Frisk was ecstatic, they started signing fast. **“Yeah, all the fish are really pretty, but I wanted to see you the most.”**

**“Thank you Frisk, I’m so happy the two of you could make it. No one gave you trouble right?”** You looked up at Sans with a certain look. You were concerned for him? Why? ...oh right, he is a monster. People have been keeping away from him, but no one has really done anything. Sans shakes his head and he can see you relax, smiling.

 

“Tell her we are really _seas-_ ing the day and learning a _shell_ of a lot.” Sans' grin widens as Frisk finally laughs full-heartedly at his puns.

 

You look between him and Frisk, wondering what he said. **“What?”** Frisk turns to you and signs what he said. You blink a couple times and then bubbles start to come out of your mouth. You covered your mouth, trying to stop laughing and reach for the conch. You blow into it and then sign back. **“Don’t make me laugh under water. My lungs can’t take it.”**

 

Oh right, you don’t actually breath underwater. You and Frisk start signing back and forth, within minutes, the both of you are drawing a crowd. Kids step up to Frisk, their eyes sparkling. “What are you doing with the mermaid?”

 

Sans steps closer to Frisk and places his hand on their head. “Well, you _sea_ here, Frisk speaks through signing with their hands and so does the mermaid.”

 

“So you can talk to the mermaid?!” The kids get closer, admiring Frisk as their face turns red. They nod towards the other kids. “That’s so cool; can you ask her what is it like living in the aquarium? What does she eat?”

 

Frisk blinks for a moment and then turns to you. For half an hour, kids would ask their questions through Frisk and Sans would translate your answers. Sans was having fun watching the kiddos get all excited with your answers that fueled their wonder. He watches your face light up as every question is asked. A light flashes and you give the children a sad smile. **“Sorry, I’m needed somewhere. I hope you all come back to the aquarium to say hello. And I’ll see you and Sans later, I had fun with you guys here.”** You blow a kiss at Frisk and start to swim up the glass to the surface, but pause looking back at Sans. Sans stands up straighter as you stare right into his eyes. **“Thank you for speaking for me and Frisk.”** You blow Sans a kiss of his own. Sans feels a shiver go down his spine as his face heats up. That’s a new feeling…

 

Sans feels a small tug on his sweater. He looks down to see Frisk wiggling their eyebrows at him. **“You should thank her for today. Maybe over dinner?”**

“That’s it, I’m taking you home and you can do your math homework by yourself.” Sans grabs Frisk’s hand and drags them out of the aquarium. Frisk laughed at Sans as he pulls his hood over his head.

 

* * *

 

You had finished changing out of your mermaid costume and showering. It’s odd to see yourself without all the scales and fins. You look around the room to make sure no one was around. You take off your towel and quickly put your underwear and bra on. You have one foot in your jeans when you hear the door open. You look back to see Callie and Joyce have entered. Joyce ignores you, but Callie looks at you and then quickly turns away. You rush to put your pants on as they walk by you. Don’t look, don’t look, don’t look, you chanted in your head. Don’t see them, don’t see them. You throw on a t-shirt and grab for your hoodie when Callie calls out. “Hey, what’s that on your arms?” You freeze. Shit… You ignore her and pull the hoodie over your head. You can feel her eyes on you as you pull your hair up and put your shoes on.

 

“Hey, she asked you something. Are you going to answer her?” Joyce spoke to you in an annoyed voice. You pull your sleeves tighter over your hands, holding your arms close to your body. Sitting on the bench, you don’t turn around and shake your head. “Tch, typical.” You feel yourself closing in together, shivering, as her tone becomes harsher. You want to talk, but you just can’t. There is a huge lump in your throat and you can feel tears building up. You hurriedly grab your things as the tears fall.

 

Running out of the locker room, you hear Callie. “I think she was crying…”

 

“Who cares.”

 

* * *

 

Sans and Frisk are outside the aquarium, eating some pizza they got from a restaurant across the street. “How is it kid?” Frisk gave him a thumbs up as they took a bite of the pizza, cheese hanging from their mouth. He chuckles as he grabs a piece of cheese from their plate. “What do you call cheese that isn’t yours?” Sans’ grin as he threw the stolen food in his mouth. “Nacho cheese.”

 

Frisk rolled their eyes. **“When is Paps getting here?”**

 

“Ouch kid, I know my brother is the coolest, but you could at least be ambiguous with who is your favorite.” Toriel had texted Sans earlier, letting him know that she was going to be late and to take Frisk to his house till she gets off work. Sans called Paps to come pick them up and Frisk started complaining about being hungry, so while waiting for Paps they went to this pizza joint. “From what he said, five minutes or so.” They nodded and started eating again. Sans rested his head on his hand, looking at the aquarium. It really was cool to see you in full mermaid costume, the scales look pretty real and looked really good on your skin… wait what? Why is he thinking of your skin? Sans was curious about skin in general, considering he doesn’t have skin or flesh, but he specifically liked seeing yours… he shook his head. It was nothing, by tomorrow, all these thoughts will disappear…yup… Sans noticed someone running out of the aquarium. It’s you, wearing normal clothing for once, no fins. It’s strange seeing you dressed like any other human. He is about to call out to you when he sees that you are crying. What? You were happy just a little while ago. What happened? Sans has conflicted feelings of whether or not he should chase after you or stay where he is. He decides to call after you, but as soon as he stands up, Papyrus pulls up in his car.

 

“BROTHER, FRISK! THE GREAT PAPYRUS IS HERE TO TAKE YOU HOME IN MY SUPER COOL CAR! I ALSO BOUGHT SOME COOL SUNGLASSES FOR TOMORROW!” Papyrus strutted out of his car, blocking Sans’ view of you.

 

“That’s great bro, but I…” Sans tried to look around his brother to find you. But you were long gone… Sans sighed. “Let’s go home kiddo.” Sans helps Frisk clean their face and hands before getting into Paps’ car.

 

“SO HOW WAS THE AQUARIUM?” Papyrus asked as he drove down the street.

 

 **“Fun! ___ was cool!”** Frisk signed into the rearview mirror.

 

Papyrus nodded. “THAT IS GOOD TO HEAR! NEXT TIME, BE SURE TO INVITE ME! I WOULD LOVE TO SEE OUR NEW HUMAN FRIEND IN HER FISHY FORM. HOW DID YOU LIKE IT SANS?”

 

Sans pulled out his phone, pulling up his texts. “It was interesting…”

 

* * *

 

You are sitting on the couch, wrapped in a giant fluffy blanket. You'd made yourself dinner, but you don’t feel like eating. Alphys isn’t answering her phone. She must be busy with work or Undyne… You sigh, hoping your mood will improve by tomorrow. Alphys and Undyne will notice right away. If Undyne finds out how your coworkers are acting… you may become the only mermaid left at the aquarium. You are okay with mermen, Cody and Daniel, but you hardly ever work with them so that may be the reason why there is no tension. You trade shifts with Cody through emails, but that is as much interaction you have with them. You think about Callie calling out to you again… You tighten your blanket around you. “Why did she ask me that?” You whispered to yourself. There a few things in your past that you wish to forget, but there are permanent reminders that will never let you move past them easily. You sigh to yourself, you should have changed at home… You are jolted out of your thoughts when your phone vibrates.

 

You grab your phone off the table to see someone has sent you a text.

 

 **Fart Master** : 8:37 PM

_Why couldn’t the pirate learn the alphabet?_

 

Sans is waiting for you to reply, drumming his fingers on his sternum as he lay in bed. It took him awhile to muster up the courage to text you. After a few minutes, he feels his phone vibrate.

 

 **Echo Flower Girl:** 8:41 PM 

_Why?_

 

 **Fart Master** : 8:42 PM

 _He always got lost at C._  
_Why wouldn’t the crab share with the lobster?_

 

 **Echo Flower Girl** : 8:44 PM

 _Idk, why?_  
_Wait..._

 

 **Fart Master** : 8:45 PM

 _He was shellfish_  
_So…_

 

 **Echo Flower Girl** : 8:46 PM

_Damn it, I knew that one_

_So?_

 

 

 **Fart Master** : 8:47 PM

 _Who’s the son of a beach who made you cry?_  
_I was at the pizza place when I saw you_

 

 **Echo Flower Girl** : 8:49 PM

_It's stupid…_

 

 **Fart Master** : 8:50 PM

 _I can a shore you, that water it is, it isn’t stupid_  
_I fish to help_

 

 **Echo Flower Girl** : 8:52 PM

_Are you done?_

 

 **Fart Master** : 8:53 PM

_Yeah, I’m FINished_

_So are you going to tell me what happened or should I whale on you with more puns?_

 

For the rest of the night, the two of you were texting. Sans told you a pun here and there, mainly ocean themed. You told him about how you and your coworkers weren’t really seeing eye to eye and you became stressed out when they asked something personal. He didn’t press you for for what they asked about and why it had freaked you out. Soon you guys were just talking randomly about hobbies, Papyrus and Frisk, your addiction to echo flower nice cream and his to ketchup. You still find that disgusting that he just drinks it. Soon, it was past midnight and you were starting to feel sleepy. You asked him if he was going to the beach with everybody, turns out he is. You send him one last text before going to bed.

 

 **Echo Flower Girl** : 12:46 AM

_That’s cool! I’m going to go to bed, I’m slowly falling asleep, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow! :D I’m super excited for the beach! Can’t wait!_

 

Sans reads your text and then puts his phone on the night stand. “Yeah, me too…” He lays back on his bed and falls asleep with a smile on his face.


	5. Our Stars

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beach day!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> yay new ch, sorry it took so long. college got in the way XP
> 
> I hope you like it and if you notice any errors let me know.
> 
> also pssst, there is a note from the author at the end.

Sans waited outside the school for Frisk. He was sitting by the front door as he checked his phone for any texts. He had sent you one this morning but you hadn’t answered him yet, and the kid was already finished with school… maybe you got distracted? Would it be weird to text you again? Sans is brought out of his thoughts to the sound of the school bell ringging. Kids were filing out and Sans spots a familiar head bobbing through the crowd. Frisk came up to Sans, wearing a pink skirt with their signature long sleeve sweater. “Girl today kiddo?”

 

Frisk nodded, pushing away their long sleeves to sign.  **“It’s hot today; I thought a skirt would be better instead of shorts. Plus, I felt like pink. Oh, and look at this, we are doing a play. Papyrus is going to be in it!”**  Frisk reaches into their bag and hands him a flyer. They were doing Sleeping Beauty… well, the Disney version. Papyrus worked at the school as help in the kitchen; he often played with the kids during recess.

 

“Cool, Paps told me a little about it in the car. I can help with the sleeping part, not so much on the beauty part.” Sans chuckled as he pat his stomach. Despite being a skeleton, he was what Frisk called "pudgy".

 

“Ugh, I can’t believe you let your child wear a skirt to school. Boys aren’t supposed to wear skirts.” Sans ground his teeth at the sound of a familiar and unpleasant voice.

 

Sans patted Frisk on the head. “Frisk is gender-fluid, get it right Linda. They felt like a girl today, so a girl they shall be. You wouldn’t know anything about that.”

 

Linda scoffed at him. “At least my child is normal. Last week Frisk was a boy and now they are a girl, while my child is constant and I don’t have to tiptoe around them about it. And you better make better costumes for the play this year.”

 

“Ah, go choke on one of your nasty gluten-free lemon squares, Linda, at least I made mine and they weren’t store bought like your little shit of child’s was.” Sans held onto Frisk’s hand as he led them away from the school and to Papyrus’ car.

 

“Ugh, drop dead Sans.” Linda yelled.

 

“Aw, love you too Linda. See you at the next PTA meeting.”

 

* * *

 

You woke up late! Staying up so late texting caused you to sleep in, now you only have two hours till you have to meet everyone. You hurriedly get up and start getting ready. Because Frisk was coming along to the beach, you wanted to be in your mermaid outfit for them, but you guess you are going to have to only do the tail and scales today. You changed into black bikini bottoms and a purple bikini top with prints on it to make it look like shells, and then slid into a white sun dress. You put some quick scales on your arms and randomly on your body (sunblock as well, safety first!). Tail tucked away in its traveling bag, your hair and teeth brushed, you were ready to go. You throw your beach bag on your back and held your tail in your arms as you ran towards the meet up stop in front of Undyne and Alphys’ apartment.

 

You see a van with Undyne leaning against it, wearing black shorts and a yellow sporty swimsuit top. “You're late nerd!”

 

 **“I’m sorry, I overslept and…”** You were panting, leaning forward as you signed to catch your breath.

 

Alphys rolls down the window next to Undyne’s head. She was wearing a blue one-piece. “H-hey ___, gl-glad you m-made it. N-now, ev-everyon-ne is h-here.”

 

“You are just too cute babe.” Undyne turned to her and laid a big passionate kiss on Alphys’ lips. You roll your eyes and stick your tongue out, whispering a ‘bleh’, before walking around to enter the van.

 

Pushing the sliding door open, you see Frisk, Papyrus, and a little arm-less dinosaur monster child sitting together in the second row. “AH HELLO FISHY HUMAN!”

 

 **“Hi Papyrus.”** You smiled at him. **“Hello Frisk.”** Frisk held out their arms to you and you bent down to give them a hug.

 

 **“Hi ___! This is my friend MK!”** Frisk gestured to the monster child.

 

“Nice to meet you dude. Frisk told me a lot about you, you sound really cool. Nyeh heh heh.” You giggle at the similar laugh that the child did. Papyrus looked like he was about to burst right out of his Beach Dude crop top and speedo shorts.

 

 **“Nice to meet you MK. Are you guys ready to have some fun in the sun?”** You smiled as they cheered happily. You looked to the back to take your spot to see Sans asleep next to a pile of bags. He was wearing black swim shorts and a sleeveless hoodie. You climb in gently, tying not disturb him. Papyrus closed the door for you as you made yourself comfortable. You flinch at the sound of the door being slammed and looked over to see Sans still asleep. How does he close his sockets?

 

“Okay you dorks! It’s time for the beach!” Undyne sat in the driver seat and everyone cheered as she started the van. You giggle, enjoying the fun and energetic atmosphere. You settle into your seat and pull out a notebook from your beach bag to start doodling. It’s going to be an hour drive, plenty of time to design new tails. You are completely absorbed into your drawing, not listening to the conversations that everyone is having.

 

“Heya.” You jump at the sound of a deep voice next to you. You look over to see Sans, still in his comfortable position with one eye-socket cracked open. You felt sort of awkward with him now, after spending most of the night texting him. You give him a nod and go back to working on the sketch. “Whatcha drawing? Ah, I _sea_.” He commented as you held up the drawing to him and then you giggled at the water pun he made. “You really are dedicated to this huh?” You nod; this is really all you know right now.

 

 **“I like it; it keeps me busy and happy. I don’t have to think much about other things because of it.”** You run your fingers over the half done sketch.

 

“I can relate. That’s why I have my hot dog stand. We don’t really need the money, it is something that will never change for me, even if everything else does.” Sans spoke in a darker tone. “But enough of that, you know I _fish_ you answered my text.” You blinked at him. What text? You reach down and to dig out your phone. Sure enough, there was a text from Sans.

 

 **Fart Master:** 11:32 AM

_Good morning, ready to conch-er the world?_

 

You start laughing at the text. Really? Where does he come up with all the sea puns? “Why am I Fart Master in your phone? I should be the Sansational Sans or Skelly-pun, something other than that. Here give me your phone.” He reached out for your phone but you pull it away.

 

**“No.”**

 

Sans raised an eye-bone. “No? No way kid, I’m changing it. It is going to be _humerous_.” Sans tries to take your phone again, but you yank it out of his reach. Sticking your tongue out at him, you blow him a raspberry. “Wanna have a bad time?” Sans chuckles at you and then starts trying to steal your phone. You managed to keep your phone away from him, dodging his hands every time he grasped for it. At some point, Sans had both arms around you, tickling your sides. “Don’t say that I didn’t warn you.” You are crying from laughter now.

 

 **“Okay okay!”** You push him away, trying to catch your breath. You type in Sans new contact with Sans watching you over your shoulder.

 

“’Sansational Skelly-Pun.’ I like it, tibia honest.”

 

* * *

 

 

Alphys watched you and Sans interact. Sans was practically on top of you as he tickled you into omission. “Those two are getting along huh?” Undyne chuckled, gesturing with her head at the two of you.

 

“Heh heh, I sh-ship it s-so ha-hard.”

 

* * *

 

“WOWIE! LOOK AT ALL THAT WATER!” Papyrus proclaimed as he stepped out of the van, placing beach supplies on his shoulders. Sans stared at the ocean in wonder. How could there be so much water? Frisk held onto Sans' hand as they took in the waves splashing against the shore together.

 

Sans hears someone come up behind and turns to see you. **“Hey Frisk, Undyne and I are going to go to the restroom real quick, want to come with us to change into your swimsuit? Aren’t you warm?”** You point at Frisk’s long sleeve sweater. Oh…

 

Frisk shook their head. **“I’m not going in the water. I don’t like taking off my sweater.”**

 

You tilt your head to the side. **“Why? It’s a lot of fun in the water.”**

Frisk gulped, letting go of Sans’ hand. “Kiddo, you don’t have to. ___, Frisk just doesn’t like the wa-”

 

Frisk taps Sans’ belly. **“No, it’s okay. I want to.”** Sans is conflicted, not sure how you would take Frisk’s condition. He didn’t want you to start treating them different like all the other human kids did. Frisk starts rolling up their sleeves, showing you the scars on their arms. Some cuts were even still fresh. **“You see, I’m going to the doctor because I-”**

You place a hand on Frisk’s, stopping them. Bending down, you started peeling off the scales on your arms. You hand Frisk the scales and sign. **“I get it.”** You hold out your exposed arm, full of scars just like Frisk. Some were deeper than others. **“I wear scales so no one can see them, I don’t like that look that people give you when they see it. Their eyes are just full of-”**

**“Disgust and sympathy… yeah, I see that too.”** Frisk finished your sentence. Sans is watching the two of you, eye sockets wide, understanding why you are visiting the same doctor as Frisk now. You aren’t just able to talk to the kid, but you can understand them and relate better than he ever wished he could. He knows the feeling of crippling depression and loss of HOPE, but to go as far as hurting himself… he couldn’t understand that. Now he wants to know why, why would you hurt yourself? What could have brought you to that point? And maybe if he could help you forget it…

 

 **“That’s why it’s good to have friends like ours; they love us despite what we do.”** You look up at Sans and smile. **“Here, take off your sweater. I got something for you.”** You start digging into your bag as Frisk hesitantly took off their sweater, handing it to Sans. Grabbing one of Frisk’s arms, you press some scales onto it. It covers the scars completely. You do the same to the other arm and then place your scales back on. **“I always carry spares, now we match and you can go have fun in the water.”** You stand up, nodding to yourself proudly.

 

Frisk stares at the scales on their arms, their face full of awe. They run into you, hugging you around your waist. Sans chuckled, patting Frisk on the head. “I think that’s their way of saying thank you.”

 

You smile sweetly down at Frisk as they burrow their face into your stomach. **“It’s a shame that someone so young is experiencing this.”** You sign above their head to Sans. Sans nods at you in gratitude. Frisk has been suffering some pretty bad nightmares lately; bullies and inconsiderate parents haven’t helped either.

 

“You coming nerd?!” Undyne shouted at you as she placed bags on Papyrus’ out reached arms like he was a coat rack. You nod at her and then pat Frisk’s head to get them to let you go.

 

“Come on kid, lets go have a shell of time.” Sans pushed Frisk towards where Papyrus and MK were.

 

Papyrus noticed Frisk and hoisted them up onto his shoulders. “COOL SCALES FRISK, YOU MATCH THE OTHER HUMAN! COME ALONG CHILDREN. LETS SET UP BEFORE UNDYNE AND THE HUMAN GET BACK SO WE CAN GO PLAY IN THE WATER RIGHT AWAY. NYEH HEH HEH.” They all ran together down to the beach, Frisk was laughing and smiling as they clung to Papyrus’ skull.

 

Sans could hear your silent, wispy laugh next to him. “Hey ___, thanks for cheering the kid up. You have been doing that a lot lately.”

 

You wave a hand at him, like you didn’t change Frisk’s world. **“I wish I had someone to tell me it was okay when I was their age. I wished for a lot of things, I know they do too.”** You signed, looking at Frisk with clouded eyes.

 

Before Sans could question you any further, you were suddenly being lifted into the air. “Come on nerd, you can flirt later!” Undyne hoists you over her shoulders and runs off. The look of horror on your face was priceless! Sans chuckled, a tint of blue on his cheeks.

 

“Yo-you c-c-coming?” Alphys looked at Sans nervously, holding a beach ball close to herself. Sans nods and they both start heading over to where Papyrus was setting up the umbrellas. “S-so… um… yo-you an-d ___ s-s-seem to g-get a-along.” Sans grunted in response. It has been awkward between Alphys and Sans lately; she tried to make some small talk. “Wh-what’s th-that?” Alphys pointed down at the book in Sans’ hand.

 

“A human physics book I got from the library.” Sans held up the book to Alphys.

 

“Yo-you ar-are going-ing to r-r-read?” Alphys raised an eyebrow at him.

 

Sans shrugged. “I heard humans say that you can become well _red_ reading on the beach.”

 

Alphys awkwardly chuckled at Sans' joke, but then it fell silent between them. “Yo-you kn-know… yo-ou c-c-can st-study phy-physics i-if yo-you w-wanted, g-go g-get y-your de-degree ap-approved. Th-there ar-are m-m-many f-fields-”

 

“Alphys!” Sans shouted, not looking at her. “Enough.”

 

“R-right… s-sorry.”

 

“ALPHYS, SANS! HURRY UP! I ALREADY SET UP THE PROPER BEACH EQUIPMENT AND APPLIED THE ANTI-RED LOTION TO FRISK AND MK, AS REQUESTED OF LADY TORIEL.” Papyrus struck a pose, now only in his speedo. “MAY WE NOW GO AND FROLIC IN THE WATERS?”

 

Sans laughed as he sat down on the blanket under an umbrella. “Frolic away. Be _shore_ to watch over the kiddos.”

 

“YES BROTHER, I’LL MAKE SURE THAT THEY ARE SAFE- SANS!!!NO MORE PUNS!!!” Everyone went down to the water, splashing around for a while till they started building sand castles together.

 

Sans was left alone to read. He soon found himself totally absorbed inside the book. He was startled when he heard bags being dropped by him and someone came into his view. “Uh…one fish, two fish?” Undyne had come back with you and flopped you down in front of him. You were in your purple tail he saw you wear a few days ago.

 

 **“Gently Undyne, I can break more easily than you.”** You signed. Sans eye lights are going up and down your body. It’s much different looking at it up close. Sans can feel himself warming up slightly.

 

Undyne started stretching. “Yeah yeah nerd. I’m going to do a few stretches before jumping in the water.”

 

You turn to Sans and he looks back down at his book. You wave to get his attention and he hesitantly looks up. **“You aren’t going to swim?”**

Sans shakes his head, lowering the book. “Nah, I have more of a beached body than a beach body.” Sans taps his stomach.

 

You are contemplating what to say next when Undyne lifts you into the air again. “Ready to go. Hey Frisk! We got a surprise for you!” You are dangling over Undyne’s shoulder, a big smile on your face as you gave Sans a shrug. Sans chuckled to himself, giving you one final look before returning to his book.

 

* * *

 

The sun is setting and you are lying on the blanket, letting yourself dry. Undyne and Alphys were cuddling by the bonfire they just made. Frisk and MK were burying Papyrus in the sand, making him look like he had muscles made of sand. It had been a full day of swimming and talking to random kids who came up to you, asking if you were a real mermaid. It was a lot of fun playing in the sun with everyone today. But what would be really good would be- something comes into your view. It’s nice cream! You grab the delicious treat and sit up straight. Sans laughs at your excitement. **“Is this echo-flower?”**

 

“Yeah, sorry I didn’t get you five.” Sans sits down next to you, eating his own nice cream. “Hey kiddo, got you guys some too. Mind handing them out?” Sans called towards Frisk.

 

Frisk scrambled over. **“Thanks! Oh and ___, I was wondering… would you be willing to make me a tail too?”**

**“Well of course, come over to my house one day and I’ll get your measurements. It’ll take a while to perfect it but I don’t mind.”** Awe, how cute~. Maybe if they get really good at swimming with it, they can do some shows with you. That’ll be fun.

 

“OH, DO YOU THINK YOU CAN MAKE ME A COSTUME FOR FRISK’S SCHOOL PLAY? I HAVE TO BE A DRAGON!” Papyrus called from his sandy seat.

 

 **“Sure, it can be a like a little party.”** Papyrus was smiling wide with excitement as you agreed to make him his costume. Frisk practically skipped over to everyone, handing over their nice creams, and then feeding MK his.

 

“You don’t have to do that if you are too busy.” Sans mumbled beside you.

 

You shake your head, placing your nice cream in your mouth to sign. **“No, but I want to.”** Sans just hummed beside you as you both ate your nice creams. You watched him through the corner of your eye. How did he eat the nice cream? How does he eat period? Sans opens his mouth and you see a flash of a blue tongue lapping at the nice cream. You quickly look back at your nice cream, blushing. That only deepened when you notice the nice cream matched the color of his tongue. You ate slower than usual.

 

“It really is amazing.” Sans whispered next to you. You look up to see he was staring intently at the sun setting. It was almost completely set; the sky was painted with beautiful shades of pink, purple, and blue.

 

 **“Yeah, and my favorite part is about to start. We should get in the water.”** You turn towards the others and giggle. Frisk and MK had fallen asleep on a half-buried Papyrus, who was snoring away. Undyne and Alphys were off in their own little world… you quickly turn away. **“Guess going to have to do it next time.”** You sighed.

 

“We can go, just us I mean.” You look at Sans who was zipping down his hoodie to take it off.

 

 **“Really? I thought you didn’t like swimming?”** Sans turns slightly blue as he hesitantly takes off his shirt. You are kind of shocked to see only bones. Granted he is a skeleton, but he had a stomach… oxymoron.

 

Sans clears his throat, getting your attention away from his newly exposed bones. “It’s not like I don’t like swimming, just not a lot of people like seeing me like this. Papyrus isn’t really aware how people look at us, which is refreshing compared to me.” You place a hand on his shoulder.

 

 **“You could look like Jerry for all I care, I still like you. Though, you look much better than Jerry.”** Sans chuckled, the blue deepened on his cheekbones.

 

“Oh um, heh, ahem… thanks… so should we get going?” Sans motioned towards the water.

 

 **“Yes- wait, I can’t exactly get to the water from here… Undyne carries me usually…”** You ponder, maybe you can crawl. Sand will get everywhere…

 

Suddenly you are being lifted off the ground. “I can carry you.” Sans is carrying you bridal style and walking towards the water. “I may be all skin and bones, well mainly bones, but I’m still strong. I drank my milk when I was a babybones, just not like Papyrus.”

 

* * *

 

Sans thought he was going to explode, feeling you pressed up against his ribs and arms wrapped around his neck. Usually Sans isn’t too open to new things, but this feeling isn’t so bad. He carries you into the water, walking till the water is splashing around his spine. “Sans…” Sans jumps at the sound of you whispering where his ears would be.

 

“Y-you can speak?” Sans turns to you shocked.

 

He flinches when you lean in close again. “I can, just this is as loud as I can speak. You can put me down now…” Sans felt a shiver go down his spine.

 

“R-right…” Sans lets go of you gently. You easily float in front of him; if Sans didn’t know any better it would seem that you were actually from the ocean.

 

You motioned him closer and he slowly leaned forward. “Do you trust me?”

 

“Uh… sure?”

 

“You are going to have to keep your eyes closed and hold onto me.” You turn around and move your hair to the side.

 

“Uhhh, you want me to hold on to you?” You nod, waving him over. He hesitantly gets closer, placing his hands on your shoulder.

 

You make a huffing sound and grab his hands, pulling him closer so he was pressed up against your back. “Hold on tight, I can swim really fast. Also close your eyes; it’s going to be a surprise.”

 

Sans wraps his arms around your shoulders and holds on tight and shuts his eyes. “Okay, now wha-” You take off. Sans ends up holding onto you even tighter. You weren’t kidding, you swim really fast. He can feel every muscle in your back flex as you flick your tail, gliding through the water like it was nothing. Sans ended up lying his head on your shoulder, finally relaxed. He could totally sleep like this. Then you stopped.

 

“Keep your eyes closed.” You pry his hands off you and put some distance between the two of you, but you never let go of his hand. He could feel you move to the front of him. The water was barely moving, gently rocking the two of you. “Just wait, a few more seconds… okay, now.” Sans opened his eyes to see you, looking up at the sky. The sun finally set as Sans looked up and the sky exploded with a vast number of stars. He could see millions upon millions of stars that filled the entire galaxy and they all shined brighter than he has ever seen. This was more beautiful than the first time he saw them on the mountain. They were so much clearer here. “Hey Sans, look.” Sans turns back at you and he is amazed again. The ocean was still enough for the stars to be reflected in the water. It looked like the two of you were swimming in the galaxy.

 

“Wow…”

 

“This is why I asked to come to this beach. It is far enough from any town that you can see the stars better and the ocean becomes really still so that it can reflect it. We are completely surrounded by stars now.” You smiled at him and then lean back, floating on your back to look at the stars. Sans follows your lead, laying back and watching the night sky with you. Never letting go of your hand.

 

* * *

 

“Okay, we're back.” Undyne parked the car in front of her apartment. Everyone started to get out of the car. Papyrus stepped out carrying Frisk and MK in his arms. The kids were sound asleep, completely worn out from having so much fun in the sun. “Where are the other two-”

 

Alphys looked inside the back and then quickly motioned back at Undyne to be quiet. “Shhhh, Undyne c-come l-look.” Undyne came over and looked in the back to see you and Sans, leaning against each other, asleep. Alphys pointed down to where your hands were. You and Sans were holding hands, your fingers intertwined with each other’s.

 

“Pfft, those love nerds.” Undyne scoffed.

 

Alphys lifted her phone up and took a quick picture. “Th-they are m-my fa-favorite OTP n-now.”

 

“They are my number two favorite. My top fav is always gonna be us, babe.” Undyne leaned down and kissed Alphys on the head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> also some other news! I updated my mafiatale: [Dusting for PUNishment](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7754320/chapters/19415842) at the same time as this!  
> and i started a new series with another author that we just posted as well. It is a fic where you can choose which reader you want to be, we have the intro up and we only have two readers up right now but there will be two more later on. It is called [Yes You Mage](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8268509). so if you would like check that out and if you read my other fics go ahead and take a look at those if you want.


	6. Our Friendship

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> the day doesnt start off great but nothing like a sleepover to cheer you up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i had the biggest writer's block for this and i am not happy with this ch. but this is the best i could do with what i wanted to do  
> anyways, hope you enjoy and let me know if you notice any errors

_“You are getting fat. You know what happens to fat girls? No one loves them, no one wants to be their friend, so they end up dying alone. No daughter of mine is going to be fat.”_

_“Don’t fucking cry. Pathetic. Are you a retard who can’t even do something so easy?”_

_“Put that down, you already had a serving, piggy. Oink oink.”_

**_“But I haven’t eaten all day; you wouldn’t give me money for lunch and you said I’m not allowed in the kitchen...”_ **

_“Listen to your father, watch what you eat.”_

**_“Okay…”_ **

_“You want to be a writer when you grow up. That’s saying that you want to be broke and useless. Who would read what you wrote?”_

**_“But I really enjoy writing and doing art…”_ **

_“Maybe you should try for something more sensible? Art isn’t very reliable for income…”_

**_“Okay…”_ **

_“You can’t just swim. Being stupid isn’t what my daughter is allowed to be.”_

**_“I’m on the Honor Roll....”_ **

****

_“I only see two A’s. Better try fucking harder next time.”_

**_“Okay…”_ **

_“Those shorts are too short; they make you look fatter than you are. And what is that smell, you smell like a French hooker.”_

**_“This is my swim uniform from school… and I put lotion on cause chlorine dries out the skin. My coach gave it to me…”_ **

****

_“Well your coach is a perv, I’m not raising a fat hooker.”_

_“Study harder, so that way you can get into a good school and make something of yourself. Make me proud of you instead of being a loser.”_

**“It’s terminal… from its size, it will progress very quickly. She’d be lucky to live for eight more years.”**

_“You will have to stay with her; I’m not going to waste my time watching her become even more worthless.”_

**_“But I start school soon and I made the team-”_ **

_“I don’t care. What’s the point of majoring in art? You aren’t even that good at drawing and your short stories were never interesting.”_

**_“But my teachers all said-”_ **

_“Who are you going to believe more? Your father or the people who are paid to care about you? Just do what I tell you to for once in your life. It’s not like you are gonna miss anything, you have no friends.”_

**_“Okay…”_ **

_“Where have you been? I told you to come home before me. You didn’t make dinner like I asked.”_

**_“Sorry I had a class-”_ **

_ CRASH _

_“Excuses! Clean this mess up and make dinner.”_

**_“Okay…”_ **

**_“Mom isn’t doing too well; they said that she may have only a few months to-”_ **

_“SO? Just take care of it. I got a poker game tonight.”_

**_“She… mom died… can you come home now?”_ **

_“I should have known you would fail at this one simple thing. Take care of her. Her dying is not taking care of her. It’s your fault.”_

_Your fault…_

_Your fault…_

_“Might as well kill yourself.”_

**_“Okay…”_ **

****

**“Hey wake up! She isn’t breathing! Call 911! Come on, don’t give up! One, two, three!”**

**“Please come back! Don’t die, fuck!”**

**“You just found her hanging there? Where is the father? His wife just died… You would think…”**

**“She is stable for now, but I can’t say anything for her mentally... she is so underweight… and those scars… this poor girl… she must be dealing with some really bad demons…”**

**“He just left her in the hospital, all by herself? She just tried to…”**

**“Turns out her father was the demon…”**

**“It’s okay. None of this is your fault.”**

**“It’s okay.”**

**“It’s okay.”**

**“You’re safe.”**

**“He’s gone.”**

 

* * *

You woke up panting, covered in sweat. You wrap your arms around yourself, rocking. It’s alright, you are safe. Safe. No one is here to hurt you. You are fine. So stop shaking… You take deep breaths, relaxing your tense body. It has been awhile since you had dreams like that… You shake your head. Today is a new day. You can do it… just get out of bed…

 

You wipe sweat from your forehead; it might be best to take a shower…

 

You get to work a few minutes late. You'd texted your boss that you had some technical difficulties with your tail and had to fix it. Luckily, you didn’t have a birthday party for another hour so you had time. It’s not like you are late often. You are making your way through the main lobby when someone calls out to you. “Excuse me?!” You turn your head to see a nicely dressed man making his way over to you. “Are you ___? The mermaid queen right?”

 

You give him a nod and then start to dig out a notepad and pen. **_“Do you need something?”_**

 

“Oh, you don’t have to use that. My son is actually deaf, so I understand and use sign all the time.” To make his point, he signed as he spoke. “Last week I saw you communicating with that child in the bubble room. I’m actually a news reporter and I was going to do a quick little segment about the aquarium since it's become so popular. But when I saw you signing I was amazed.”

 

You blink at him a couple times; you feel yourself blushing a little. **“Thank you.”**

 

“So I asked my boss if I could do a bigger segment. Of course we’ll talk about the aquarium and all it has to offer, but I want to finish it on the merpeople; getting to know each one and why they are here. Maybe a live conference here in the aquarium with all of you on the panel to answer questions submitted by people…” He looked super excited and stepped closer. “I especially want to focus on you. Not because you are the queen of the merpeople, but you are what the government would call ‘disabled’, and you are doing this wonderful thing by fulfilling kids’ imagination and dreams. All kids can come here and be understood. And personally, it gives me hope for my child to be successful in this world…”

 

How can you say no to that? **“We would have to ask my boss and coworkers to see if they would be okay with it, but I would be okay with it. I should let you know that I’m the only one that can sign and that I wasn’t born this way.”** You point to your throat.

 

“Really? Was there an accident? Wait, I should stay on topic. It doesn’t matter if you were born mute or not, what matters is that you are willing to do the interview, which is great. Do you think I could go talk to your boss now, with you?” You could barely keep up with him. He was speaking so fast from excitement. You began to giggle at him; he reminded you of Alphys when she talks about anime. “What?”

                                                                                                       

 **“It’s nothing; you are just like my best friend. Come, I’ll take you to my boss’s office. I’m sure he’ll love the publicity.”** You motioned for him to follow you and you lead him to your boss’s office.

 

* * *

 

“Wow, this is so great! I can’t believe they want to do a big conference! I’m so happy our little aquarium is doing so well now. And it’s all thanks to you.” Your boss is beaming as he walks you to the birthday party room. As you had thought he would, your boss jumped right onto the idea with little convincing needed. “I’ll be honest with you; the aquarium wasn’t doing so well. We had to lower our ticket fees to get more people to come and support us. We were becoming so desperate that we had to do the competition to see if we can find anything to help us. Now with you, we have tripled our ticket sales and we have more parties and field trips than we have ever had before. Thanks to your signing, we can also accommodate for so many children. I never thought I would see the day when the aquarium wasn’t struggling…”

 

Your boss looked like he was about to cry. The aquarium must be as important to him as it is to you. You pat him on the shoulder with a small smile and you reached over to give him side hug. Leaning in, you whispered to him. “It’s okay, I get it. I love this aquarium. I’ll do what I can for it…”

 

He chuckled and smiled at you as he wiped his eyes. “I’m always surprised when I hear you speak. I’m so used to you just nodding and clapping, it's odd to think that you can talk, though it is a low whisper.” He stops in front of the party room door. “Thanks again… oh and this is another special party. This child has a learning disorder, so he can only say a few words and mainly uses sign, so just be aware of that. Also, don’t initiate anything first, let him come to you. That’s about all the notes that the mom gave me. So good luck and have fun, Your Highness.” He winks at you before leaving. You smile to yourself and take a big breath before stepping in the room. The day started off bad, but everything seems to be going so well today that it makes up for that awful nightmare.

 

* * *

 

“She was all close to him and whispered in his ear… I mean who does that?”

 

“Maybe that’s why she is allowed to get away with working so little hours, sleeping with the director. She only works on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, sometimes the weekend, while we work all week. That’s not fair.”

 

“Oh and they said the interview is going to be mainly focused on her. I know she is the one who came up with idea, but just because she's called the queen of the merpeople doesn’t mean she is better than us.”

 

You are sitting in a bathroom stall, listening to Mika and Ronny gossip about you to each other. You sigh to yourself. Of course they would take a sweet moment between you and your boss, whom you consider a friend, and make it seem bad. Also, you only work here part time because you aren’t allowed to work that many hours. The aquarium needed the extra money and couldn’t afford to make you full time and give the other employees raises to become merpeople. Which you don’t mind, you aren’t in it for the money. A loud vibration interrupts your thoughts. “What was that?”

 

You hear a locker open. “I think it is ___'s phone?”

 

“Who texted her?”

 

“It’s from the Sansational Skelly-Pun, what the fuck? Oh my god, look at her wallpaper! She is holding hands with a skeleton monster! Gross!” Your eyes go wide and you slam the stall door open. You storm right up to Mika and Ronny and snatch your phone out of Ronny’s hand.

 

You look at the phone to read Sans’ text.

 

 **Sansational Skelly-Pun : **1:27 PM

_Hey it's been awhile, hows it goin? So we got the kiddo this weekend. Asgore and Toriel are going to this couples’ weekend thing for therapy. So can we come over today after you get off work? If you still want to that is…_

**Echo Flower Girl** : 1:28 PM

_We saw each other last week and were texting last night, Sans! :D Lol and Sure! I don’t get off work till 230 though_

 

There was an almost instant reply.

 

 **THE GREAT CINNABUN** : 1:30 PM

_HUMAN! WE SHALL HAVE A SLUMBER PARTY AT YOUR HOUSE TODAY! MY BEST FRIEND FRISK IS GOING TO BE HAVING A LONG SLUMBER PARTY WITH US AND WE, MAINLY ME, HAD THE GREAT IDEA OF INVITING YOU SO YOU COULD HELP MAKE A COSTUME FOR ME THAT IS AS GREAT AS I AM! WE SHALL ARRIVE AT YOUR HOUSE AT 6 PM SHARP WITH ALL MY INGREDIENTS TO MAKE A BIG BOWL OF MY FAMOUS FRIENDSHIP SPAGHETTI! MY BROTHER JUST INFORMED ME THAT YOU DON’T GET OFF WORK FOR ANOTHER HOUR SO WE’LL COME EARLY AND PICK YOU UP IN MY COOL CAR! MUCH MORE FUN GOING HOME WITH FRIENDS LIKE US IN A COOL CAR THAN WALKING HOME, BESIDES IT IS TOO DANGEROUS FOR PEOPLE TO WALK ALONE AT NIGHT! AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT MY BROTHER TELLS ME! WE’LL BE WAITING IN FRONT OF THE AQUARIUM, SEE YOU THEN FISHY HUMAN!_

That has got to be the longest text you have ever seen! Why didn’t he just delete all the other stuff… oh gosh this was so Papyrus! “So you are doing the director and a monster?” And there goes your good mood. You shake your head as you respond to Papyrus. Why does everything go to sex? Mika and Ronny were eyeing you when you looked up at them.

 

“Are you getting with the director?” Ronny pushed. You make a disgusted face and shake your head no again.

 

Mika sighed, looking frustrated. “Okay then, explain the picture. Are you dating some kind of skeleton monster?” You pause, looking down at the picture on your phone. Alphys took it and then showed it to you later. You loved the picture; it made you feel all warm and bubbly inside. You don’t even remember who reached for each other’s hand first, but you liked the feeling of his. They were strong and sturdy with an unexpected warmth coming off them. “Hello? Are you going to answer me? Are you going after a skeleton monster or not?” You blink at Mika for a few moments before your face erupted into a heavy blush. You cover your face and start shaking your head. You and Sans, no way! You guys are just friends; he doesn’t see you like that. You guys do text a lot but nothing else… do you want something else? Oh god, now you are thinking about it and he is coming over to your house tonight!

 

“No f-ing way… you like a monster?” You look back at Ronny and Mika; they had disgusted looks on their faces. “That is just so wrong on so many levels.”

 

“It’s a skeleton, what can you do with it?” They began to mock you and Sans, pointing out the flaws they saw and putting on a big show on how disgusting it is to want to be with a skeleton monster. You calmly placed your phone back in your locker, grab a sticky-notepad and write on two of the notes. You close your locker, locking it, and then proceed to slap the two sticky notes onto their foreheads before pushing them aside to leave the locker room. There was a field trip that you are supposed to make an appearance at to take photos with the kids before they go back home.

 

You didn’t even notice that Callie and Joyce were in the locker room as well; they watched you with wide eyes as you walked out holding up a sign you know they all knew. “Did she just flip us off?”

 

Mika and Ronny took the notes off their head and read them out loud. ‘“Monster Hater Bitch 1’ and ‘Monster Hater bitch 2’?”

 

“Pfft, that’s fucking hilarious!” Joyce doubled-over, holding her sides as she laughed.

 

* * *

 

Sans was waiting outside the aquarium for you. He was leaning against a pole eating a sucker and pretending to be looking at something on his phone. He was actually eyeing the door, waiting for you to come out so he could walk you to Papyrus’ car. He was going to have Frisk come with him, but the kiddo told him to go alone while wiggling their eyebrows. Sans could feel his cheeks warm up, remembering the last he saw you… he looked at his phone’s wallpaper. Alphys had taken it and Undyne later showed him, he awkwardly asked for her to send it to him. It has been his wallpaper ever since… but it isn’t like he liked it because you are in it or anything, or that he liked the memory of the feeling of holding your soft small hands, nope, it was just a good picture, yup, that’s it, nothing else… Sans shoved his phone in his pocket in time to see you come out of the building. He cleared his throat a few times before awkwardly waving. “H-hey ___!”

 

You look over at Sans; a smile spreads on your cheeks and Sans feels a shiver go down his spine. You practically sprint over to him and tackle him. “Sans…” You whispered as you hugged him tightly.

 

“Um… h-hi? Did you miss me that much?” He hesitantly placed his hands on your shoulders.

 

You tighten your arms around him. “My coworkers were a bit much today…” Sans hummed, understanding. He returned the hug you desperately needed.

 

“I’m here for you ___. Come on, Paps and Frisk are waiting in the car for us.” Sans tries to walk but you don’t let go. He chuckles at you and pats your head. “They are going to get bonely without us, ya know?” He feels you chuckle and loosen up, but still cling to him. Sans places an arm around your shoulder and guides you down the street. Sans is slightly worried about all the looks the two of you are getting and tries to pull away after a few minutes.

 

You don’t let go of him and lean in close. “You are really warm, it’s nice…” You snuggle into him and he feels his SOUL practically jump out of his chest.

 

“Uh… thanks…” Sans feels his face turn blue and he pulls his hood up to try to hide his embarrassment. His arm never leaves your shoulder.

 

* * *

 

 **“Welcome to my home. Do you guys want something to drink or eat? I got juice.”**  You open the door for them. They are your first guests that are not Alphys or Undyne and you felt slightly nervous. You have no idea how to be a hostess. Papyrus and Frisk walk into the house, looking around with curious eyes.

 

“WOWIE! YOUR HOME IS SO CLEAN!” Papyrus looks back at you, his eyes sparkling. He excitedly runs around the house with Frisk.

 

You chuckle and decide not to tell him that it’s clean mainly because you don’t really use the kitchen or the living room that often. You motion for them to take a seat in the living room while you get some juice for everyone. “I’ll help you.” Sans had already beat you into the kitchen and he was hunched over laughing in front of the fridge.

 

 **“What is it?”** You looked at him and then your fridge. There were pictures of you and Alphys together but nothing that funny…

 

“You have like thirty nice creams in your freezer!” Sans points to your fridge as he wipes a tear from his socket. Oh… Your face is burning and you push him to the side to get the juice out.

 

**“Shut up. Or else I won’t tell you where the ketchup is…”**

* * *

 

“NYEH HEH HEH HEH HEH! THAT TICKLES HUMAN!” You are currently taking Papyrus’ measurements for his costume. It’s taking longer than usual because apparently Papyrus’ bones are extremely sensitive to the tape measure you are using.

 

“Hold still Papyrus.” You try to wrap the tape around him again but he just keeps giggling.

 

“You might want to do something less complicated…” Sans is looking over the sketches and designs you have done for Papyrus’ costume. “This is only a school play, not a comic con cosplay competition. Plus it could scare the smaller kiddos.” You sigh, lowering your head in defeat. Sans is right. This costume would take a lot of work for just a simple school play. You throw the tape in the air and sit on the ground, crossing your legs. What to do… what to do…

 

Frisk made their way over to you. You had already measured them for their tail and they'd already told you what colors they wanted. If only a dragon costume was as easy as a slip on tail, it’s only one piece to put on and done. You snap your fingers. **“How do you feel about footie pajamas Paps?”**

“I LOVE FOOTIE PAJAMAS; SANTA GAVE ME A PAIR FOR CHRISTMAS LAST YEAR THAT MADE I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, LOOK LIKE ONE OF SANTA’S REINDEERS!” You giggle at the thought of Papyrus in those pajamas. Too adorable.

 

 **“Do you think you can bring a plain black pair here next week? I think I could just add to the pajamas some realistic scales and a pull over hood for you. It would be super comfortable too.”** Papyrus’ eyes are sparkling as you signed to him your ideas.

 

“THAT IS PERFECT HUMAN! SURE, I’LL BRING THE PAJAMAS OVER TO YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! NOW, IS IT ALRIGHT IF WE GO WATCH THE FISH MOVIES YOU PROMISED?” Frisk and Papyrus are looking at you with pleading eyes. You chuckled and gave them a nod. “YAY, COME NOW FRISK. LETS FIND OUT WHY THESE FISH KEEP GETTING LOST!” They practically run out of the room and down the stairs.

 

Sans chuckles behind you, still sitting at your desk. “Thanks for doing this… again.”

 

You wave a hand at him. “I’m happy to.” Now that Papyrus wasn’t in the room, your small voice could be heard more clearly. Though, it was kind of awkward with just the two of you. You can feel your blush threatening to come back as you think about how you straight up tackled him at the aquarium. Why did you do that? You get up and start putting away your supplies, not looking at Sans.

 

“Hey, if you ever need someone to talk to or go to… I’m always available…” You turn back to look at Sans. He was scratching his skull and his face was completely blue.

 

“Thank you Sans…” You chuckled to yourself as his face became even bluer.

 

He turned away from you as he pulled his hood up. “I-It’s n-no problem… um hey, I like this picture.” Sans pointed up to a painting on the wall above your desk. It was a watercolor painting of a field full of wild flowers and in the sky had a quote from your mother. “‘You are most beautiful when you smile’ that’s a really nice saying. I must be always beautiful then.” Sans pointed at his permanent smile.

 

“Yeah… My mom told me that. I didn’t smile a lot growing up…” You gave him a shrug, not really wanting to get into everything just yet. Sans seems to sense what you were trying to say and didn’t push it. “If you like that painting, you should really see my bedroom.” Sans looked at you with a raised eye-bone.

 

“Trying to jump my bones again I see. At least buy me dinner first.” You shove Sans as he teased you.

 

“Oh shut it. Come on, let’s join Paps and Frisk. I’ll make popcorn.” You grabbed Sans’ hand and pulled him out of the chair and out the room. Sans took one last glance at the picture.

 

* * *

 

“Wow… they are out.” You poke Papyrus and Frisk who were lying on your couch with you. Sans had claimed the beanbag chair that Alphys had gotten you.

 

“Yup, they are bone-tired after a day like today.” Sans snuggled into the chair more.

 

You giggle and stand up. “Do you want to stay down here or do you want to sleep in a real bed?”

 

“Shhh, I’m becoming one with the chair.” Sans mumbled to you.

 

“Okay okay, I’m going to bed then.” You stand up and tuck Papyrus and Frisk in. You throw Sans a blanket over his head and start to head upstairs, but pause. “Oh yeah, you need to see my room.”

 

“Huh?” You run over to Sans and pull him out of the chair. “Whoa there bud. You really can’t resist all of this can you?” Sans made a gesture to his body.

 

You giggle and shake your head. “No, not that silly. Come on.” You pull Sans out of the living room and upstairs to your bedroom. You open the door to show only a bed in the room and it’s directly in the center. The walls are completely white and there is no décor inside at all. You usher Sans in, who has a confused look on his face. “Sit on the bed, it’s best there.”

 

“Okay…” Sans looks at you cautiously but makes his way to your bed and sits down. “Now what?”

 

You shut off the lights and Sans gasps. You had painted the walls with glow in the dark paint and had painted the ocean floor. There were coral reefs with schools of multiple fish swimming around on the walls. On the ceiling, there were bigger fish and whales swimming by with the sun shining through the top of the water. “Wow… you did this?” You chuckle as you made your way over to sit with Sans.

 

“Yup. I used to sell paintings online. I had this online commission to use glow in the dark paint, and it was great. I became hooked on it.” You made yourself comfortable next to Sans. “Seeing the ocean really helps me calm down.”

 

Sans is still looking up at your work, in complete amazement. It is the same look he had when you showed him the stars on the beach. Your face instantly is on fire and you remember the picture that Alphys sent you. “Hey Sans… the reason I had a small argument with my coworkers is because they were talking bad about you when they saw my wallpaper… and um… this is going to sound weird. But when we were on our way back from the beach… we held hands and Alphys took a picture… I made that my wallpaper on my phone…” You can’t even look at Sans right now. You can sense him looking at you for a while and you couldn’t help but turn away.

 

You jump when you heard him chuckle. “Undyne actually sent me that too.” A bright light filled the room. You look over to see Sans’ phone and his wallpaper is the same picture.

 

“No way.” You couldn’t believe that he did the same thing. His face was practically glowing blue in the dark.

 

Sans scratches his skull nervously. “I really liked the picture so I just kind of did it…”

 

“Me too.” You and Sans stare at each other for a moment before bursting out into laughter. For the rest of the night, you two stayed up talking randomly and getting to know each other more. Without even noticing, you both started to lean against each other and soon fell asleep looking at the fish you had painted on the walls.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> other fics I'm working on:  
> [Dusting for PUNishment(Mature)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/7754320/chapters/17681770)  
> [Honey, We Bee-long(Teen+)](http://archiveofourown.org/works/8376301/chapters/19188850)  
> 


	7. Our Weaknesses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> morning after your sleepover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First off: Merry Christmas! and sorry that this is kind of sad ch with not so happy notes...
> 
> second: i want to say something that i wished i did after the last ch, this fic is personal to me, this reader is pretty close to who i am, more than any of the other reader inserts i written(a salting feelings is second, reader has similar past but she is who i wish i became). this reader's past is mine, even the nightmare is filled with things that have been said to me. no i dont have dad issues, but my dad was never a "dad" to me and my mom just didnt want him to turn on her more than usual if she defended me, i have many issues because of what i have and havent experience, and on top of that i developed some mental health issues. i have a hard time with touch and trusting that the people who love me wont hit me, i am afraid to be overly judged for every little thing i do and it to be wrong so i get extremely anxious and uncomfortable when people hover or look at what i am working on before im ready to show them, im afraid of being fat, loud sounds and voices startle me, panic attacks and nightmares are a daily thing for me, and i put lotion on my wrists every day to make my scars go away because of the looks i would get, i didnt wear a tank top for two years till they faded, even then i blamed my dogs for them. the concept of unconditional love confuses me so much. i had dreams of being a painter or writer before but was too afraid to do it because of the disapproval my parents had. i regret giving up so easily, but i found a new path that i want. writing these fics lets me live out that small dream and let out stress and fears that i have. 
> 
> some days are better than others. which leads to the point of this rant, based on the context of the last ch and this one, i want to say that no matter what the situation is and what others tell you, taking your life is never the answer. I know life can get hard and humanity is harsh on others, but you do matter. no one can tell you otherwise, strangers, classmates, even family can say and do harmful things to you, BUT YOU STILL MATTER. Remember it is not your fault, you are not broken, damaged, dirty, or unwanted. keep living, carry your scars as badges, every breath you take is proof that they were wrong about you. things will get better, not tomorrow, not next month, maybe not next year, but over time, things will get easier. 
> 
> if you dont see yourself getting past your trauma or the abuse(physical, psychological, and emotional) is still happening or you suffer a depressive base disorder(including drug/alcohol abuse), please ask for help. there are people out there who want to help you and care, not everyone will turn you away. and if there is something that you truly want in life and want to do, do it. the only person that you should be seeking approval from is yourself, not others, even from the ones you love, they should be supporting you, not belittling the things that make you happy.
> 
> thank you for reading my fic and this note, i hope you enjoy this ch. let me know if you notice any errors. :)

_Sans opened his eyes to see that he was standing in the middle of a forest covered in snow. He looked around, confused. All he knew was that he needed to walk forward down the path. He made his way down the path, around a tree and his brother and Frisk came into view. He was about to call out to them to see if they knew what was happening when Frisk lifted up their left arm and swiped down. Papyrus’ body crumbled to dust, his skull sat on the ground in front of Sans. “W-well… that isn’t what I expected. But…st-still! I believe in you. You can do a little better. Even if you don’t think so…I…” Sans couldn’t stand there anymore and ran at them, only for the two of them to disappear in a mist. He heard his brother’s voice from behind him and turned around. Frisk had their foot on Papyrus’ skull. “…I promise…”_

_CRACK_

_They stomped on his skull, shattering it into dust. “No!” Sans stumbled forward, trying to grab onto Frisk, but they vanished into mist when he touched them. He looked to the left and right for them, but there was nothing but trees. Sans bent down and held his brother’s scarf to his chest. He heard a child giggle sickly. He turned around to find himself in the Judgement Hall and Frisk standing in front of him, holding up a knife and face covered in dust._

_They slowly looked up at Sans. Tears were streaming down their face as they still smiled. “Sans… I’m so tired… I can’t stop it… there is so much LOVE, I’m over flowing….” Frisk started to flicker and then their eyes changed to red and their sweater turned to green with yellow stripes. They spoke again, their voice slightly different this time. “LOVE has corrupted us…they made their choice, they chose LOVE and we are suffering.” They flickered again to the original Frisk. “Make it stop…” They flickered back and forth as they shakily raised their arm. The flickering stopped and stood before him was a shadow of a child with red eyes and smile. “FIGHT.” They lunged for Sans and he quickly dodged, at the same time summoning a bone spike that impaled them from the ground. Sans felt the spatter of blood hit his face. The shadow flickered and Frisk was back to normal as their SOUL came out of their body and broke in half. “Thank you.”_

 

* * *

 

“Sans, shhh. Breathe.” Sans shot up, eye sockets wide with one eye glowing. He could see you sitting in front of him. Where is he? Why are you here? What happened? Sans can’t think as he was in full panic mode, his magic flaring for a threat that he can’t seem to find. His eyes focused on you, you were saying something, but he couldn't hear you. Everything was fuzzy as his mind tried to comprehend what was happening. You place your hands on Sans’ knees, causing him to jump. You retracted your hands, holding them up for him to see. You motioned them both to your face as you breathed in your nose and then pushed them away as you breathed out of your mouth. Oh, you want him to breathe with you. Sans just noticed that he was hyperventilating. He started to focus on his breathing, getting into rhythm with you. Sans breathing started to even out and you smiled. “You are doing good, now lets count to ten okay?” Sans nodded and you counted together.

 

“Good, now Sans, what is my name?”

 

“___...”

 

“Good, what do you see?”

 

Sans eye lights returned as he looked around. “Um, a closet, a bed, walls, and you.”

 

“Good job. Now, what can you touch?”

 

Sans bushed away sweat on his head. “Me,” he reached down and touched the bed, “the blankets,” you held up your hand to him, “and you.”  Sans reached out, entwining his fingers with yours, and holding onto you tightly. You squeezed his hand in return.

 

“That’s right. Good job, I’m proud of you, how do you feel? Do you need more time?” You didn’t pull away or move, just kept smiling at him.

 

Sans shook his head. “No… what was that?”

 

“You've never experienced something like that before?” You raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“No…” He gripped tighter on your hand.

 

You nodded, scooting closer to him. “What caused it? I noticed you were having a nightmare when I tried to wake you up… do you want to talk about it?”

 

“I don’t remember… but I know it was about my brother and I failed to save him…” You stroked his hand soothingly, not getting too close but not being distant.

 

“Do you want to get up and see him downstairs? It’s 4 a.m., so he and Frisk are still asleep.” You pointed to the door.

 

“I… no… how did you do that?” You were so calm and knew exactly what to say to help him calm down.

 

You gave him a sad smile. “I get them too; there are many things that can trigger a panic attack. Mine are mainly when people yell with a certain tone or when I hear doors slamming when I don’t expect it.”

 

“Why?”

 

Your lips tighten as you thought for a moment. “I… was never good enough for my dad, no one was. No matter what I did, it was never enough. I always had to be a certain way, but I never met his standards. I tried my best to look the way he wanted, I never spoke back to him, and I did as I was told, but… He let me know how disappointed in me he was by yelling, throwing things, and… talking down on me. Growing up with constantly hearing something like that over and over, you start to believe it. So now I flinch at loud things and have social anxiety.”

 

Sans tightens his hold on your hand, how could anyone be disappointed in you? “I understand.”

 

“Sans?”

 

“There are days when I feel like I’m gonna wake up, and be there again. I had given up on making it to the surface, lost all HOPE, I barely survived if it wasn’t for Papyrus needing me. I’d dream my days, over and over to the point I could predict what was going to happen next. Nothing ever surprised me anymore. I’d dream of the surface too. But then I would wake up in Snowdin again, then the surface, and then back in Snowdin. I couldn’t tell which one was a dream and what was reality. And then, out of nowhere, nightmares came and they lasted for so long, dust and death everywhere. I thought I was losing my mind. It was so different than what I was used to and I felt like a true failure for the first time through them. I always thought of myself that way, but-” Sans clutches his shirt on his chest, “but… those dreams made it feel so real.”

 

“Is that… what you were dreaming?” You reached up and pried his hand off his shirt, holding it in yours.

 

Sans looked down as he nodded, unable to look you in the eyes. “It’s why I don’t like to change things up, stick to what I already know, and watch over my brother.” Sans prepares himself to be lectured, to be pushed to do things different, and to go explore the world like everyone else had been telling him to. He can’t let himself do that, he has this feeling that it will all be taken away from him one day. He doesn’t want to experience that pain. But everyone, especially Alphys, has been trying to get him out of his set ways, he is sure you will too.

 

“That’s okay…” His head shoots up to look at you in shock. “It’s okay to stay in your comfort zone if you really are worried. I’m sure having a routine that you can rely on really helps keep you sane and cope with being on the surface. I have one in my planner for everyday and it’s color-coded.”

 

Sans blinks at you for a moment. You looked so proud about the fact that you have a color-coded planner, your eyes were practically sparkling. Sans can’t help but burst out into laughter. “Oh stars…” There are tears in his eye sockets as he laughs harder at you.

 

“Why are you laughing?”

 

“You… you looked so happy about it. It was the same look you had when you bought nice cream from me.”

 

Your face instantly flushes. “H-hey! I like planning, I always like to be prepared and organized.” You try to defend yourself as you cheeks puff out.

 

“I’m the exact opposite; I’m a lazy bones slob who can sleep anywhere. I don’t think I own a piece of clothing that doesn’t have a stain on it.” Sans laughs as you scrunched up your face.

 

“Why do you sound so proud of that?” Sans just shrugs at you and you burst into laughter, well it sounded kind of like laughter. It was mainly puffs of air. But Sans didn’t care, the best part was the look on your face, that smile. He looked down to see you were still holding both his hands. He felt his cheek bones become slightly flushed and he looked back at you. You were giving him a gentle smile, causing his SOUL to jump. “Want breakfast?”

 

“Uh… sure…”

 

* * *

 

You and Sans walk down the stairs, you sniff the air… smells like… bacon… You see Papyrus and Frisk cooking together in the kitchen. “AH! I SEE YOU TO FINALLY DETANGLED YOURSELVES FROM EACH OTHER’S ARMS TO JOIN US FOR BREAKFAST!” Papyrus wiggled his eyebones at you two. Frisk gave you guys a cheeky smile and a thumbs-up.  “IF YOU GUYS WANTED A SLUMBER PARTY OF TWO, YOU COULD HAVE JUST TOLD US! UNDYNE HAD WARNED ME OF THIS AND HAD TOLD ME THAT I WOULD BE A… UM WHAT WAS IT? WHAT IS A MALE CHICKEN CALLED AGAIN…?”

 

 **“A rooster?”** Frisked signed.

 

“AH, YES. I WOULD BE A ROOSTER-BLOCK… WAIT, THAT DOESN’T SOUND RIGHT…” Your face is on fire and you cover your face in embarrassment. Oh god… please don’t remember the word. Undyne is soooooo dead.

 

“Uh… it wasn’t anything that Undyne was implying, we only talked and lost track of time… we fell asleep that’s all…” Sans waves his hands in the air, like he was fanning the idea away. You peeked to the side to see Sans’ entire skull was blue. That made you blush even more. “Anyways, what you making bro?”

 

“OMELETS, BACON, AND HASH-BROWNS. FRISK AND I WOKE UP THIS MORNING AND WERE NOT SURE WHAT WE COULD USE FOR BREAKFAST. WE WENT UPSTAIRS TO YOUR ROOM TO FIND YOU AND MY BROTHER STILL SLEEPING, IN EACH OTHER’S ARMS,” he paused to smirk at you guys again, “SO WE DECIDED TO GO GROCERY SHOPPING AND BUY FOOD TO PREPARE FOR BREAKFAST. BUT YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE WHAT WE MADE IF YOU WANT TO EAT SOMETHING ELSE.”

 

“Nah, bro. It sounds _eggcellent_. That smell is _bacon_ me crazy. You did a _grate_ job, _spud_.” Sans shrugs and then winks at you. Papyrus groans as you and Frisk chuckled into their hands, the attention finally off you and Sans.

 

“SANS!!! NO!!! DON’T RUIN THIS MEAL WITH YOUR AWFUL PUNS!!!”

 

Sans sits down at your table with his eye-sockets closed and hands in his pockets. “Oh I’m sorry you don’t find my _yolks apeeling_. No need to go _bacon_ my heart.” Sans opened an eye socket to watch as Papyrus muffled a scream into his gloves.

 

“GET OUT! YOU RUIN WHAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE A WONDERFUL BREAKFAST WITH THE HUMANS!” Papyrus motioned towards the door with his spatula.

 

“Okay, okay. I’m done now… but uh bro? Are you making smoked bacon?”

 

“NO…?”

 

“Tell that to the bacon.” Sans pointed to the stove where smoke was starting to rise.

 

“AH MY TOGETHER BREAKFAST!!!”

 

* * *

 

 **“That was delicious, thanks Papyrus, Frisk.”** You wiped your mouth with a napkin.

 

Papyrus crossed his arms and nodded. “THANK YOU HUMAN. YOU SHOULD EXPECT NOTHING LESS THAN PERFECTION WHEN IT COMES TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS’ COOKING! NYEH HEH HEH!”

 

“It was egg-straordinarly amazing as always bro.” Sans smiled as he leaned back in the chair, like he was going to go back to sleep.

 

“I’M IGNORING THAT.” Papyrus glared at his brother. “SANS! DON’T FALL ASLEEP AT THE TABLE.”

 

“Okay.” He still had his eyes closed.

 

“SANS!”

 

“Yeah?” He gets more comfortable in the chair, slumping with his hands in his pockets.

 

“GET UP.”

 

“Doing it now bro.” He doesn’t move.

 

“SANS!” You and Frisk giggle at the brothers’ exchange.

 

You look at your phone, you have work soon. Today you were taking over the shop for Avery; her pregnancy hasn’t been going well. Her morning sickness is every minute sickness, who knew it could last this long into pregnancy. **“Alright guys, I got work soon. I have to change into a cosplay uniform and then walk over.”**

 

 **“You don’t drive?”** Frisk asked you.

 

 **“I have a hard time with cars. I didn’t have a good experience when I was learning, now I get anxiety attacks sitting behind the wheel. I used to work at home, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. Everything is a walkable distance, that’s why I chose to live here.”** Frisk nodded at your explanation.

 

Papyrus stood up and started collecting the dishes. “THEN I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS, SHALL CLEAN THE KITCHEN AND DO THE DISHES AS YOU GET READY. WE’LL GIVE YOU A RIDE, WE MUST DEPART AS WELL TO FIND THOSE PAJAMAS FOR YOU AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. PLUS KING ASGORE AND LADY TORIEL WILL BE RETURNING TONIGHT AND WILL BE PICKING UP FRISK FROM OUR HOUSE.”

 

“Don’t fork-get-“

 

“BROTHER, IF YOU FINISH THAT PUN, YOU WILL FORCE ME TO CONTEM _PLATE_ THROWING YOU OUT THE WINDOW.” Papyrus has a very icy tone that sends a shiver down your back.

 

 **“I’ll go get dressed now.”** You stand up and go upstairs, leaving the brothers to themselves to dish it out… damn it Sans…

 

* * *

 

You walked down as one of your favorite characters to cosplay: Lucy Heartfilia from Fairy Tail. You are wearing her Star Dress for Aries, which is a very fluffy spaghetti strap dress, long gloves with fluff on the wrists, striped leggings with more fluff on the ankles, fluffy choker, and ram horns that are held up by your pigtails. Super cute, super comfy, and no heels unlike most of her dresses. Only down side is the low cut in the front and how tight it is on your chest, showing off how much your chest could bounce and jiggle as you walk. You still love them though. You plan to wear every dress at work. Probably should make some changes to Taurus and Aquarius’ outfits… they aren’t exactly appropriate for work. You are lost in thought about your cosplay outfits, you didn’t notice the look on Sans’ face. His jaw had gone slack as his eye lights went completely out, a small blush on his face.

 

 **“Wow ___, you look great! That dress is so soft.”** Frisk went up and started to touch the dress.

 

 **“Thank you, it’s one of my favorites.”** You smiled down at them.

 

Papyrus poked his head out from the kitchen. “WOWIE HUMAN, YOU LOOK LIKE A CLOUD OR COTTON CANDY! I AM ALMOST DONE AND THEN WE’LL GO.”

 

Papyrus’ loud voice had woken up Sans from his daze. “Uh… yeah kid, you look um… great…” Sans gulped as he looked you up and down. “Do you always dress like than when you go to work?”

 

 **“Yeah, it is a cosplay shop, sometimes I get dressed there if I am running late, but mainly get dressed here.”** You raised an eyebrow at him.

 

“Maybe I should take you to work on the days you go to the cosplay shop?” You tilt your head, Sans looks like he is nervous. He was sweating as he scratches his skull.

 

 **“Sure, I don’t mind.”** You look down at Frisk as they giggled with a knowing look. **“What?”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> you are all beautiful to me, even though i cant see you and i dont really know you, i love you and i am happy that you are here to read all the fantastic pieces of art on this site. i noticed a lot of us users here have similar issues like i do, so please dont be harsh on the authors here, we dont know each other and our histories. we are not doing this for you guys, sure it is nice to know people like what we created and you do motivate us to continue, but this is our outlet, our safe space. saying something rude and insulting is like burning down that safe space we created for ourselves. dont do that, that makes us not want to write. I deleted a rude commenter on one of my fics after i worked days on it during a very stressful time, saying some part of my fic was stupid and overall uninteresting. constructive criticism, okay, but full on ripping apart what i worked on and spitting on it, yeah no. i've seen it on other fics as well, and some authors just stop allowing comments, which i think it is sad. we all enjoy this fandom, but we do have different tastes, like i hate soriel with a burning passion, but i dont go bashing fics that have it, one of my fav papyrus/reader fics(its one of my recs) has it and i dont mind because it is so good. so be polite or say nothing, and if you do say something, stop and think "would i say this to them in person?", if not reword it or add emojis so we at least know u dont have the intention to cause harm. thank you. and sorry for all the ranting in this ch, i just needed to say it.
> 
> anyways on a more important topic, if you need it, here are the people you can call for help around the world that i got from a tumblr post:  
> Depression Hotline: 1-630-482-9696  
> Suicide Hotline: 1-800-784-8433  
> LifeLine: 1-800-273-8255  
> Trevor Project: 1-866-488-7386  
> Sexuality Support: 1-800-246-7743  
> Eating Disorders Hotline: 1-847-831-3438  
> Rape and Sexual Assault: 1-800-656-4673  
> Grief Support: 1-650-321-5272  
> Runaway: 1-800-843-5200, 1-800-843-5678, 1-800-621-4000  
> Exhale: After Abortion Hotline/Pro-Voice: 1-866-4394253  
> Child Abuse: 1-800-422-4453  
> UK Helplines:  
> Samaritans (for any problem):08457909090 e-mail jo@samaritans.org  
> Childline (for anyone under 18 with any problem): 08001111  
> Mind infoline (mental health information): 0300 123 3393 e-mail: info@mind.org.uk  
> Mind legal advice (for people who need mental-health related legal advice): 0300 466 6463 legal@mind.org.uk  
> b-eat eating disorder support: 0845 634 14 14 (only open Mon-Fri 10.30am-8.30pm and Saturday 1pm-4.30pm) e-mail: help@b-eat.co.uk  
> b-eat youthline (for under 25’s with eating disorders): 08456347650 (open Mon-Fri 4.30pm - 8.30pm, Saturday 1pm-4.30pm)  
> Cruse Bereavement Care: 08444779400 e-mail: helpline@cruse.org.uk  
> Frank (information and advice on drugs): 0800776600  
> Drinkline: 0800 9178282  
> Rape Crisis England & Wales:0808 802 9999 1(open 2 - 2.30pm 7 - 9.30pm) e-mail info@rapecrisis.org.uk  
> Rape Crisis Scotland: 08088 01 03 02 every day, 6pm to midnight  
> India Self Harm Hotline: 00 08001006614  
> India Suicide Helpline: 022-27546669  
> Kids Help Phone (Canada): 1-800-668-6868, Free and available 24/7  
> suicide hotlines;  
> Argentina: 54-0223-493-0430  
> Australia: 13-11-14  
> Austria: 01-713-3374  
> Barbados: 429-9999  
> Belgium: 106  
> Botswana: 391-1270  
> Brazil: 21-233-9191  
> China: 852-2382-0000  
> (Hong Kong: 2389-2222)  
> Costa Rica: 606-253-5439  
> Croatia: 01-4833-888  
> Cyprus: 357-77-77-72-67  
> Czech Republic: 222-580-697, 476-701-908  
> Denmark: 70-201-201  
> Egypt: 762-1602  
> Estonia: 6-558-088  
> Finland: 040-5032199  
> France: 01-45-39-4000  
> Germany: 0800-181-0721  
> Greece: 1018  
> Guatemala: 502-234-1239  
> Holland: 0900-0767  
> Honduras: 504-237-3623  
> Hungary: 06-80-820-111  
> Iceland: 44-0-8457-90-90-90  
> Israel: 09-8892333  
> Italy: 06-705-4444  
> Japan: 3-5286-9090  
> Latvia: 6722-2922, 2772-2292  
> Malaysia: 03-756-8144  
> (Singapore: 1-800-221-4444)  
> Mexico: 525-510-2550  
> Netherlands: 0900-0767  
> New Zealand: 4-473-9739  
> New Guinea: 675-326-0011  
> Nicaragua: 505-268-6171  
> Norway: 47-815-33-300  
> Philippines: 02-896-9191  
> Poland: 52-70-000  
> Portugal: 239-72-10-10  
> Russia: 8-20-222-82-10  
> Spain: 91-459-00-50  
> South Africa: 0861-322-322  
> South Korea: 2-715-8600  
> Sweden: 031-711-2400  
> Switzerland: 143  
> Taiwan: 0800-788-995  
> Thailand: 02-249-9977  
> Trinidad and Tobago: 868-645-2800  
> Ukraine: 0487-327715


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